


Forgotten Ghost

by SierraCara



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-17
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:21:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 79
Words: 238,142
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27603419
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SierraCara/pseuds/SierraCara
Summary: ''I thought people always remembered their first kiss?''Katariina ''Katya'' Petrova grew up with Natalia Romanova in the same institute, trained to be a killer deadlier than anyone. What started as a friendship quickly turned into something more. There was only one problem: relationships were strictly forbidden. Upon betrayal, the girls were torn away from each other, never to be seen again.Until Natalia Romanova becomes SHIELD Agent Natasha Romanoff and stumbles upon the girl she had pushed out of her mind in the middle of a battlefield in Serbia. Only Katariina isn't a little fifteen-year-old girl anymore and hasn't found herself on the path of righteousness.Updates every week- Pre-The Avengers -- Endgame- Natasha Romanoff x OC- Girl x girl
Relationships: Natasha Romanov/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 28
Kudos: 92





	1. Serbia

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Thank you for clicking on my story and giving it a chance! 
> 
> I just wanted to say beforehand that I am in no way a professional writer and I'm just doing this because I like writing and telling stories.  
> That said, my first language isn't English, so you will probably find some grammar mistakes or maybe some sentences that just don't run correctly, but I am trying so bear with me haha.  
> Oh and there will be a new update every week.
> 
> I will stop rambling now and actually go to work. So I hope you enjoy the story!
> 
> Love, Sierra

The whole square had turned into a warzone. The once quiet, isolated town now the center of a battle between one of the biggest crime-organizations on the planet and one lonely runaway. 

Bullets ricochet off the walls of the worn-down buildings surrounding the plaza. Little fires randomly covered the ground, caused by grenades and other explosions. Dust and smoke hung before everyone's eyes, making it hard to see across the space. Civilians had ran away when the first shot was fired, so the only people occupying it were fighters, killers.

One of them was Katya, the one they were all after. One lonely, but definitely not innocent, woman fighting for her life. No, it was more than that. Freedom, that's what she was fighting for. The freedom she had finally found after twenty-three years being everyone's little slave. The freedom she just had a little taste of in the past two years, and she was not ready to give that up.

The brunette spy was crouched behind a low stone wall on the north side of the square. It was just high enough that her whole body was covered when she sat up straight. It gave her perfect cover from the shooting coming from the south. 

Little pieces of stone broke off of the wall as bullets hit it, but nothing came through, luckily. 

How they had found her, she had no idea. She was always careful to never leave any tracks or evidence behind, moving in the shadows like she had learned when she was still a child.

But no use dwelling on the past, they were here now, they had found her, time to kill them. So bullet after bullet was fired at heads and hearts, a lot of them finding their target. But the protective armor the soldiers were wearing was hard to pierce and soon, Katya was running low on ammo. 

Deciding to save the last few bullets she had in case she would need them before being able to refill the clips, she took out her grenades and knives. The blades were hidden everywhere. Shoes, pants, belt, bra, even her tight braid held one. It was trickier to throw them than use her guns. Not because her aim was bad, not at all, because of the fact that she had to get up a little more from behind her shelter to aim and move her arm.

It left more parts of her body vulnerable and a bullet in her arm would suck right now.

What she didn't realize, is that also on the south side of the square, two people had their own mission to kill her. 

After gaining it, Katya used her newfound freedom to build a name for herself in the only business she knew: killing. It didn't matter who she worked for and who she killed. It was the only thing she knew how to do, the only way to live. She knew it was wrong, but what do you do when you're all alone in an unknown new world where you don't know how everything works? You turn to what you do know, out of hope or fear or desperation.

This was how she had gotten on SHIELD's radar. Apparently, the US Secretary of Defense was not free to kill. It was the one action that got everyone in the world looking for her, especially the Americans.  
She had never been to America, however, she had killed the man while he was on vacation to France. So the French were also after her. Great.

It was the only kill she ever regretted. The only deal she wished she never took. But the money was too sweet, there was no resisting it. 

''You see her?'' Agent Barton asked his friend and colleague who lay next to him on the roof. This particular mission was important to him. The whole government wanted to see the woman, who killed one of them, in a body bag. 

The redhead next to him answered sarcastically. ''I thought your name was Hawkeye.''

These little remarks between them were not uncommon. Natasha had a dry sense of humor he could appreciate. ''Very funny. You see her or not?''

''I know where she is.'' The woman peered through the scope on the top of her sniper gun. She usually preferred to come closer to her target, but the situation didn't make that possible right now. ''The smoke doesn't let me find her though.'' 

''Maybe we should circle around, get behind her so we have a clear shot,'' Clint suggested.

Natasha didn't look up from the gun while she spoke, too focused on finding her target. ''No. The smoke covers her, but also covers us. We'll draw too much attention.''

They watched from the roof, waiting for the smoke to clear or the brunette to make a wrong move. She didn't however, and while it got darker and colder, the shots and blasts slowly died down. Wind began to pick up, howling between the buildings. It was truly a haunting setting.

The streetlights flickered on, revealing the thinning smoke in the pale light. After a little more than an hour of fighting, only three soldiers remained. The SHIELD Agents had to admit they were impressed. One woman taking out an entire army of soldiers by herself, poorly armed and no armor. Although maybe it shouldn't come as such a big surprise, seeing as she did kill the Secretary in broad daylight.

Suddenly, an almost painful silence fell over the town. The remaining soldiers had run out of bullets. Katya saw this as an opportunity to finally get out from behind the wall, her limbs stiff from squatting for so long. The first soldier received a beautiful stab in his neck, the only place his armor left unprotected. 

The snapped the second one's neck while holding him in a headlock and the last, a woman, met her death by a cut on her throat. 

Katya admired her handywork, looking at all the dead soldiers who were sent to bring her back in. But she would never go back there, could never go back there. ''Nice,'' she whispered to herself. 

Agent Romanoff had finally gotten a clear visual on the woman, but knew immediately something was off. Even though the brunette stood with her back to the building, something in her mind tickled, but she couldn't place it. Did she know her? 

Barton felt his teammate stiffen slightly, even though she tried to hide it. He was the only person who could read her, although it took him a little longer sometimes.

He looked to his left, softly speaking to her as to not draw any attention. She had a clear shot, but didn't move her right finger to pull the trigger. ''What's wrong? You know her?'' Of course he knew about her troubled past, even though she never told him herself. She never talked about it, not even to him. It was a dark part of herself she didn't like talking about.

''No.'' But her voice came out a little too unsure, too forcing.

''Tasha...''

She finally sighed, knowing lying to him was no use. Finally pulling her head away from the gun, green eyes glanced at him quickly. ''I don't know.''

The blond man shook his head. ''It doesn't matter. What she did was unforgivable.''

Natasha clenched her teeth. He was right, it was unforgivable, but she had also killed people and they had forgiven her. She would always stand up for people like her, survivors, doing everything to stay alive. ''Everyone does horrible things to survive. You gave me a second chance, why shouldn't she?''

''Because she killed dozens more, Natasha!'' Clint hissed at her. ''We can't just take her in. We were sent to eliminate her, not take home a stray.''

But those were the wrong words to say. A determined fire lit up behind her eyes and her hands dropped the gun just enough to give him a message. She was not killing this woman. 

Clint knew there was no way to change his friend's mind when it was set on something. Dropping his head in dismay, he gave in. ''Fine. But you're explaining this to Fury.''

A happy little smirk formed on her lips. ''He might kill me before I get the chance.'' 

Katya's neck hairs stood upright. She believed she had taken out everyone, but somebody else was here and the presence came from behind her. Turning around quickly, she glanced around the square. Everything was quiet, no one was there. Then, sudden movement on the roof of the south building caught her eye. A flock of red?

She didn't want to find out who it was, already having fought enough today, so she took off instantly, making a run for the alley on her left. But her body never made it to cover. A gunshot reached her ears and it was too late to dodge the bullet that lodged itself into her calf, making her stumble for only a second. But it was long enough for the second projectile to hit her right between the shoulder blades. 

This wasn't a bullet, it was something pointy, sharp and long. However, she had no time to pull it out or even look back, because suddenly a strong electrical current ran through her body. The muscles locked and spasmed, making everything shake and tremble. It stung and burned, but it was over quickly, her body falling into a black abyss. 

The two agents on the roof said nothing as they watched Katya fall down and pass out. It wouldn't take long for her to wake up, so the woman disassembled her weapon quickly and made her way down the building. Clint just followed her silently, confused as to what was happening and how this mission had ended very differently than ordered. Natasha was never one to deviate from the mission, always taking her orders very precisely. So her feeling of knowing their target must have been very strong. 

It was a good thing they arrived at the brunette when they did, because she already started to stir and move. Still very much out of consciousness, but it wouldn't be long. Clint turned her around, on her back, so they could see her face better. She was beautiful, he must admit. Her hair was almost black, that's now dark brown it was. Multiple little scars littered her face, the only part of her body that wasn't covered.

Long eyelashes almost touched her cheek when her eyes were closed. She was just overall stunning.

Natasha didn't react, only studied the woman's face, but that feeling of recognition only became stronger. She felt familiar, but everything about her past was blurry. She had locked everything from the first twenty years of her life away, so it was possible she knew this brunette on the ground. 

''Nothing?'' The man felt uncomfortable, sitting out here in the open for so long. The woman may have taken out her enemies, but there was a big possibility more would be coming.  
''I know her, just not from where,'' Natasha admitted. 

''Well, you can figure it out later. We need to get out of here.'' He swung his bow over his shoulder and picked the woman up. She was as light as she looked and he could feel immediately how muscular she was, clearly well-trained.

Natasha watched his back as they made their way back to the jet they came here in. Serbia was a long way from DC, but this plane was designed by some of the world's best engineers and scientists, shortening flight time from twelve hours to four. It wouldn't nearly be enough to keep the brunette assassin from staying out, but luckily, the ship had all kinds of medicine and shots on board.  
So the first thing Agent Barton did after he had placed the woman down on the cold, hard ground of the jet, was stick a sedative in her body. 

''Fury is gonna be pissed, you know?'' The man said to his friend when he saw her sneakily look back from time to time at the sleeping woman on the floor. They were one hour into the flight back, and the silence wasn't as comfortable as it always was between them. With Natasha, you didn't have to say anything, they just enjoyed each other's company. But now it was different. The redhead was clearly struggling with her memories and emotions, unsure what sparked the feeling of recognition.

''He definitely is.'' Her eyes shot back from the woman to her friend next to her, suddenly a very serious expression on her face. ''Thank you,'' she almost whispered. Natasha wasn't comfortable voicing her feelings, but she was thankful that Clint trusted her, just like that, no explanation needed.

''I just hope you're right about this and we don't end up bringing a spy into SHIELD.'' His hard demeanor softened after her words. He was pissed they didn't finish their mission the way they were ordered to, but he could never stay angry at his colleague for long.

''I hope so too''


	2. Nothing To Lose

The first thing Katya registered was the soft humming of an engine. This made her go on high alert immediately. She would never fall asleep or pass out when she was traveling, definitely not on a plane, which she knew she was on.

It were the little things that told her that. The faint turbulence that only belonged to a plane. The speed, no vehicle on land could ever move this quickly. And the fact that it was very quiet. No sound of wheels running over pavement, no braking or sudden turns, no sounds of wind. 

But how she got on here, she didn't know until a stinging pain in her back and leg brought her entirely back to reality. Her muscles were sore and tired, the result of being electrocuted and her leg throbbed with a familiar pain, a gunshot wound. Everything came rushing back to her, the square, the fight, the people on the roof, a gunshot and the bullet in her calf. Then finally, passing out from the electricity.

This really sucked. Just when she thought to have had escaped for another few days, a new player joined the game. Because she knew it wasn't Hydra who shot her down, it was somebody else. An unknown factor. And that freaked her out a little.

Despite her pain and the fact that she was awake on god knows what plane with god knows who, Katya didn't move a single muscle. People could be watching her closely and knock her out again before she knew it. 

The cold, metal ground told her that she was on the floor and a quick search of her body told her that all her weapons were gone. Not a good start. Her leg would restrict her movements when fighting hand-to-hand and she still didn't know how many people she would have to take on.

''This is Agent Barton, we are five minutes out from base.'' A manly voice broke the silence, almost making Katya jump. She had been focused on the quiet sounds, trying to figure out where people were sitting.

'Agent Barton' did not sound good. His voice was American, without accent. So he was from an American Intelligence Organization. If any organization in the world was a joke, it was the FBI and the CIA. They had been after her for years, but didn't even know her name. Now it did help that Hydra spies were scattered everywhere throughout those organizations, but still.

''Copy that, you are clear for landing,'' a female voice spoke through the radio.

Only five minutes left to figure out where she was and how to get out of here unseen while being wounded and unarmed. Difficult, but not impossible. So she decided to do what she always did when she was in an unknown place with unknown dangers, you play along and figure out the plan on the way.

But a low female voice she hadn't heard for at least ten years threw spanner in the works. Even though it had gotten a lot more grown-up, she would recognize it everywhere. ''Call in Fury, let him know we have the target.''

Natalia Alianovna Romanova. The beautiful redhead she had once known so well. A million memories she had carefully stored away drifted to the surface, threatening to drown her. She knew where the woman was, she had always kept tabs on her. After twenty years working for that shitty organization they were raised in, she had defected to SHIELD. 

Apparently, they had originally been sent to kill her, but the agent on duty had made another decision, deciding she deserved a second chance.

Katya couldn't come up with any other reason than that as to why they hadn't killed her on the spot. If they could hit her from that far away in her calf, they could've hit her heart or head too. They were sent to kill her, why did they take her in?

The answer came in the form of the voice through the radio, clearly confused. ''I'm sorry, Agent Romanoff, did you say you 'have the target'?'' Romanoff, the English version of her Russian last name. Made her wonder what else she changed to separate the woman she was to the one she is now.

''Romanoff made a different decision than planned, just call him in please.'' Barton always stood up for his friend, even if he didn't agree with her actions. 

''Yes, sir.''

''She still out?'' Clint asked Natasha.

She peeked around her chair, where the brunette was still laying on the floor quietly. Blood had come through the white bandage on her leg, it would probably need stitches. ''I think so, yes.'' Man, her voice was like one of an angel sent from above. Katya realized she had missed her more than she thought.

''Great, more heavy lifting for me.'' The man sarcastically said. Katya almost scoffed, a little offended. You could say what you want about her, but she was not heavy.

She didn't know what to do when the jet landed with a soft thud, Barton was clearly an experienced pilot. Her plan was to run as soon as the doors opened. There was a big chance she would get shot within the first five steps, however, because running was difficult on her leg. But where was she going to go?

It was clear that now SHIELD was after her too. Another big organization looking for her. How long could she stay out of enemy hands now? It was already difficult with the number of enemies she had, but now it was even harder. And did she even want to? 

She knew Natasha, if she was here, maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea to listen to what they had to offer her fist, before running away. If the redhead had given up her old life to join here, why couldn't Katya. The brunette had even less to give up or go back to. Nothing that was worth dying for.

So that is why she didn't move a single muscle when Barton picked her up from the floor. His strong arms carried her off the jet, as audible by the feet on the ramp door, and into the building. The chill, air-conditioned air hit her in her face. She couldn't help but count his steps. 83 to the doors of the building, 19 to the elevator, where it took 15 seconds for the lift to arrive, 27 to the floor Barton called 'Interrogation', a direct left when exiting the elevator and 54 steps to the room she was in now. 

Another person, probably Romanoff, whose presense Katya felt the entire time, pulled back a chair and she was dropped in it. Her hands were bound together by some very tight handcuffs she knew she could still get out off if she wanted to, and even her good leg was tied to the ground. That would be a bitch to get out of, but she could once her hands were free. 

Natalia's hands unwrapped the bandage from Katya's leg, seeing that the wound was still bleeding a little. ''That needs some stitches.'' 

''Well, that will have to wait, 'cause Fury is here.''

She could feel the crouching woman next to her stand up quickly. Katya knew who Fury was, everybody involved in the crime business knew who Nick Fury was. Director of SHIELD. If he was here to see her, she must have made more of a mess of things than she thought.

''Agents, a word please.'' He sounded very pissed. Which only confirmed that they were not supposed to bring her back, just kill her. 

But Natalia wasn't afraid. She was afraid of no one. ''Yes, sir.'' Came her answer, short and confident, even though she knew she screwed up.

When they left the room, Katya could finally open her eyes carefully. It was a typical interrogation room. White walls, harsh lightning, double sided mirror opposite her, lots of camera's semi-hidden in the corners of the room. Tiredness tugged at her brain, but the pushed it away best she could. The fight from before, the lack of sleep and the sedative that was still wearing off made her feel like shit. But showing weakness was not an option.

She had to play this carefully. She had to give them no reason to kill her, had to get Natalia on her side. She would fight for her, she knew it. Katya felt confident in that department. Knowing the woman already recognized her somewhat, she just had to give her a final push. 

Fury, Clint and Natasha stood on the other side of the mirror, watching as the brunette in the room slowly woke up. Natasha had a feeling that she had been awake for longer than she let on, probably letting her mind concoct some sort of plan to get out of here.

''What the hell is this? The mission was to eliminate her, not bring her in.'' The older man looked at both of his agents, but mostly spoke to Barton, since he was in charge. 

''We think she deserves a second chance, sir'' 

Fury's eyes almost fell out of his head. ''We think?' Since when do you decide how these missions end on your own, Agent Barton?''

Natasha didn't feel good, letting her friend undergo the consequenses of her decision. ''This was actually my call, sir. I made him follow me.''

''You made him follow you? Since when are you in charge, Romanoff?''

''I'm sorry sir, but I know her, from back in the day.'' Fury didn't need an explanation on what she meant by that. He knew about her past.

''And you decided to bring her in and not kill her because...''

''Because I got a second chance. So why shouldn't she? She has done some horrible things, but so have I. We didn't have a choice, it's all we know.'' Fury had always had a soft spot for Natasha. For some reason, he trusted her completely, even though he had only known her for five years and her past was rocky.

The woman saw that she was close to convincing him, so she manipulated him a little to let her get her way. ''Just let me talk to her. Find out where she has been and how she got out. Maybe she will even give us some information.'' This was what convinced the man. Hydra was still their biggest threat and every little piece of information could help them fight.

He looked from the woman in the chair, who was staring right at him through the glass, to the redhead in front of him. With a sigh, he gave in. ''Fine. But if you don't get her to talk, she's gone.''

The tiniest smug smile formed on her face. ''I understand. Thank you, sir.''

''You're lucky I like you, Romanoff, because you're a pain in my ass. Now go in there before I change my mind.''

He didn't have to say that another time. ''Yes, sir.'' And with that, she left the room quickly.

Katya moved her eyes from the mirror she had been staring at for the last ten minutes, to the door next to it. She had hoped Natalia would be the one to come talk to her, but her heart still made a little jump when she actually walked through.

She was even more beautiful than she remembered. The last time she saw her was ten years ago, when they were both still only teenagers. Even though they never got to be one in their upbringing. They went straight from little kids to grown-ups.

She had matured so much, that Katya suddenly understood why the other woman had trouble remembering her. The childishness in her face was gone and replaced by tight lines that fit her short hair perfectly. It was even redder than in her mind, the red almost on fire. Natalia had always hated it, said it made her stand out too much, but Katya loved it. It fit her personality. A strong, confident woman. And that was what she still saw today.

But all those things were nothing in comparison to her bright green eyes. They still pierced into her own, like the redhead could see straight through her. 

Katya wanted to get up and hug her, but the confusion and uncertainty in Natalia's eyes stopped her from saying or doing anything. It was clear to her that she still didn't know who she was. So the brunette just stared at the Russian, waiting for her to say something first.

She slowly sat down in front of Katya, careful not to give away anything. But they had grown up together and she saw right through her moves, because they were also her moves.

The silence became unbearable, so Katya was the first to give in. ''You really don't remember me, do you?''

Her words shocked Natasha a bit, not expecting the woman in front of her to speak up. But her voice, her voice was so familiar. It just wouldn't click in her head.

''I thought people always remembered their first kiss.''

Clint and Fury raised their eyebrows in surprise at the spy's words. It appeared that they knew each other better than Natasha had let on.

Katya watched as Natasha tensed up, the first visible sign of emotion she had showed so far. Her eyes widened a little, just enough for her to catch. ''Katariina?'' It had finally clicked. And now that she knew, it was impossible to understand how she didn't see it earlier. She should have remembered those eyes. 

''It's just Katya now actually, but good to know you remember, Natalia.''

Natasha was too much in shock to correct her name. 

''It's probably my hair. It's not blonde anymore.'' Green eyes shot to her hair, studying the strands. She was right, she once blonde locks were a dark brown now, almost black.

The redhead had finally found her voice again. ''Why?''

''Why I dyed it? You should know, Natalia, you're a spy after all.'' Katya had dyed it two years ago, after she broke out. It helped the first couple of weeks they were looking for her, when the brown threw them off her trail a couple of times. But it didn't last long. She liked the color better, however, made her feel different, like she wasn't the person she used to be anymore. This new version of her was free.

''Why did you leave?''

Confusion and shock ran through her body. ''You think I left you?'' Katya took Natasha's silence as a yes. ''I didn't, they took me away when they found us out. I still don't know how or who told them.'' The woman in front of her wasn't convinced. ''You know relationships were forbidden, Natalia, so does it really surprise you that they sent me away?''

''No, but it surprises me how you are still alive.''

''Aren't you, too? As far as I know, kissing usually involves two people.''

Katya couldn't help but make a joke, it was just so easy in front of this woman she knew so well.

But instead of joking back, Natasha only shut down more, wanting to create distance. ''You didn't answer my question.''

The other Russian now became serious too, her eyes flickering down to the table for a second before deciding to just put it all out there. She needed Nat to trust her again, like she once did. And that would only happen if she knew the whole story. 

So Katya leaned back in the chair, breaking the closeness they had found themselves in, slowly edging forward. Her eyes were hard and distant when they found Natasha's green ones. ''You know they hated me because they could never break me. But I always did what they wanted, without protest. I was too good of a spy to get rid of. That's why they didn't kill me when they found out about you and I. Ten years of training would be wasted.'' 

The woman in front of her listened intently, trying to catch Katya in a lie. ''So they actually sold me to the highest bidder.'' She shrugged as if it didn't do anything to her, but it hurt, knowing all your life was worth is a couple hundred dollars. ''I didn't know that at the time, of course, I found out last year, after I broke out.''

''Explain 'broke out'''

A sigh left the brunettes mouth. ''Long story short; Hydra soldiers suck and they should have known I would try to run the second they left me alone.''

The corner of Natasha's mouth twitched just enough for the other to see, letting her know she was slowly getting through to her. ''So you were there all those years?''

''Yep. 1999 to 2007. Mostly in Russia, but I also spent time in Germany and other ex-Soviet countries. 

The information just flew out of her mouth. She knew Natalia was probably manipulating her, but she honestly couldn't care less. She hated Hydra so whatever she could do to help SHIELD bring them down, she was game.

''Why did you run?''

Katya rolled her eyes. ''Do you really need an answer on that?''

The redhead leaned back in her chair too, shrugging her shoulders. ''Humor me.''

''One: they have no respect for human life. Two: like I said, they're really stupid and three...'' She wasn't sure if she should tell her this, but it was the truth. ''I don't want to be a killer for the rest of my life.'' It almost came out as a whisper. If it were anybody else interrogating her at the moment, she would have just said some sarcastic comments to get them to leave, or play any other game to get free.   
But now, why would she? She had no home, no safe place, no family and definitely no friends. The whole world was after her. Hundreds of people wanted her dead. While right in front of her, no more than a meter away, sat the only person she would have ever called family, home.

She was tired of running and fighting, she just wanted to feel safe. 

The woman in front of her raised an eyebrow. ''Then why did you kill the Secretary of Defense?''

''You think he's American?'' Natasha looked at her confused, not understanding where she was going with this. ''He is- was, Hydra. I came looking for revenge.'' She could see she wasn't lying, but Natasha didn't trust her fully. 

Katya, obviously, saw this and added, ''Look, I know you don't trust me, but ask me anything and I will answer truthfully. Whatever you want to know.''

''Why?'' Her eyebrows furrowed.

''What do I have to lose?''


	3. Familiar Feeling

''Thanks for this by the way.'' Katya limped through the corners of SHIELD HQ. The pressure on her leg had caused it to start bleeding again. Natasha had offered to help her, but Katya refused. She didn't want people to see she needed help to walk. So the redhead walked next to her silently, ready to catch her if needed.

''You were running away, so I had to do something. Be glad it wasn't your knee.''

''Wow I feel a lot better, thanks,'' Katya sarcastically replied. 

Natasha pushed the button for the elevator, waiting for it to arrive. Luckily, it was empty, less explaining to do. ''Infirmary'', she said to the ceiling.

''Confirmed'' A fabricated voice replied. Slowly, the doors closed and it went up a couple floors, Katya staring at the numbers as they went up. The silence wasn't awkward. She knew that with Natalia, you didn't need to talk. 

They had talked for some more until Natasha was called away by the man she came to know as Barton. She had left Katya in the room for 26 minutes if she had counted correctly, until she just came back in and unlocked her cuffs. It was weird to have the Russian touching her again, but it felt so familiar and nice.

What they had talked about behind the mirror must have been good, because they didn't throw her out of the building. Instead, they were fixing her up by bringing her to the infirmary. Natalia was deeply lost in her thoughts, Katya could see that. She just let her think, hoping whatever she decided was good.

A doctor already awaited them in a sterile room, greeting them as they walked in. He looked at Katya in mistrust, but she couldn't care less about what he thought of her. She hopped up on the bed easily, starting to unwrap the bandage. She had patched herself up so many times, it was almost like she was a doctor herself. 

''Maybe you should let me do that.'' The Doctor wanted to push her hands away, but the nasty glare the woman threw him made him back up. 

His words didn't stop her from unwinding the gaze. ''Leave the needle and pliers'', she ordered him around. She knew she had no right to, but she didn't trust others with fixing her up. Her body, her decision.

''But-''

''Just do it'' Natasha, who clearly held some sort of power here, interrupted him. He nodded stiffly and put the equipment on the bed, then walked to the other side of the room, pretending to be busy on something.

Katya studied her leg from both sides. No exit wound, so she would have to pry the bullet out, great. ''You couldn't have at least shot it all the way through?'' she mumbled to Natalia.

Her right hand picked up the pliers, a quiet hiss leaving her when she poked it into her skin. ''You sure you don't want him to do it?''

''Why?'' Katya turned her head to the side when the woman didn't answer. ''Be careful, Natalia, or I will think you actually care about me''

She crossed her arms over her chest, ignoring the brunette's jab. ''It's Natasha.''

Katya narrowed her eyes at her, studying her face carefully, then returning her attention to her leg. ''No, it's not.'' 

Natasha was glad she didn't see her reaction, because it was hard to explain the feelings she got. ''Then why is it Katya.''

The woman didn't answer, just smiled mysteriously while pulling the bullet out. Nat was smart, always having a good comeback and seeing right through your words. Her hands dropped the bullet in the metal container with a loud sound and picked up the needle and thread next, carefully threading it. 

Natasha watched her work, precisely sewing her wound shut in a way that would leave the littlest of scars. It was almost calming how steady she pushed it through her skin, not even flinching once. She remembered Katya had once stitched her up the same way, first carefully taking the bullet out and then sewing it close. They couldn't have been older than thirteen.

The brunette cut the thread after she was done, but didn't move otherwise, lost in her head. ''Why didn't you?''

A confused sound replied her question. ''Hmm?''

''Kill me?'' Now she moved, turning her whole body and dropping both her legs off the sides of the bed so she could look at her old friend. ''I know you could have.''

The woman shrugged, casually replying. ''Everyone deserves a second chance.''

But Katya saw in her green eyes there was something else, something she wasn't telling her. ''No, that's not all.'' When Natalia didn't reply, she continued. ''There is no use in lying to me, I still see right through you.'' It had always been this way. To everyone else, Natasha was a very hard person to read. When you didn't know her, it was totally impossible. But Katya knew all her little tricks and giveaways. They hadn't changed over the last decade.

Natasha glared at her, not happy she had given herself away. ''Fine. I recognized you somewhere, but I couldn't place you.''

A little smirk came on Katya's face, happy she could still get the redhead to give in. ''Like I said, it is the hair.'' She only got a eyeroll in return, but that was good enough for her. Rolling a new bandage around the wound, she was ready to go wherever they needed her to. Slowly testing her leg, knowing it was going to be a few weeks until it was fully healed, she decided she could walk on her own. Stubborn. Very stubborn. 

They hobbled back to the elevator, leaving the doctor to clean up the mess. ''Detention Level'', Natasha said to the ceiling as they stepped in. 

''Confirmed''

One brunette eyebrow raised up. ''Really?''

The other woman didn't even look at her when she answered, just stared at the elevator door. ''Be glad, Petrova. It's either that or a body bag.'' 

A little smile formed on Katya's lips. ''Ah, you remember more than just my first name I see.'' Again: no reply. ''Can I at least shower first? I feel dirty and I definitely smell.''

''Good to know I wasn't imagining that.'' Did she just... did she just make a joke? Katya was shocked and just stood in the elevator while her friend walked out. Seeing as she didn't follow her, Natasha turned around to see why she hadn't followed. ''You coming?''

''Was that a joke?'' The brunette asked shocked while she stumbled her way over to the woman.

A tiny smirk came on Natalia's face when her feet started walking again. ''No, that was your blood loss making you hear things.'' 

Katya shook her head quietly, following the redhead to her cell. It was a nice room, she had to admit, but it was still a cell. And if she hated one thing, it was cells. She had been living in one for a while, but the feeling of being locked up like an animal in a cage was something you never forgot. And even though this clean, white, spacious cell was nothing like the one at Hydra, the same feeling came back to the surface.

Natasha saw her hesitate to walk in and understood immediately. She hated small spaces herself, curtesy of her childhood, so didn't push the woman to walk in. ''How long will I be staying here?''

''Until Fury trusts you enough to give you a room upstairs.''

''You live here too?''

She gave her a quick nod. ''Yes. I'm on 24/7 duty, so I need to be on a plane within five minutes if I have to.''

This somehow gave her the push she needed to walk into the room, plopping down on the hard bed. There was nothing to do in here, although it did hold some books. But nothing to write with, something she did to keep her sane. Writing all her thoughts and feelings down was like therapy. 

Natasha studied her for a bit, seeing how she looked for the camera's and ways to escape. ''There's a shower in the back. Don't try anything.'' And with those words, she turned around and walked out, throwing the door in the lock behind her. 

It became awfully quiet while Katya just sat there, alone for the first time in a couple of hours. It was clear that the cell was lined with soundproof walls to throw her off. It was impossible to hear the guards walking up and down the corridor, to prevent her from recognizing a pattern. But what did surprise her was that there was a window in the bathroom. She hadn't seen it when walking in, because a little wall had blocked it. 

Of course, thick bars were placed in front of it and the glass itself was bulletproof. So thick that not even a missile could come through. It was definitely not a way out. But she didn't even want to get out.

Not yet, at least.

There were some clean clothes waiting for her in a drawer. Someone had placed them here before Natalia took her here, because they were all her size. It was nothing special, but just the feeling of new, fresh clothes was good enough.

The hot water felt amazing against her skin. She couldn't remember the last time she had a hot shower. Crappy apartments usually didn't have a heater. Blood, ash and dirt filled the white floor of the shower, the water rinsing it all of her body. She almost felt like a different person when she lay down on the cot, the thin blanket pulled over her body. It was cold, but that didn't stop her from sleeping.  
If she wasn't so tired and emotionally drained, she wouldn't have slept. It was part of her training. Always stay alert, even when asleep. But it was no use trying to force her eyelids open, they closed on their own. 

Meanwhile, a couple floors up, Natasha couldn't possibly fall asleep. She turned over and over in her bed, but Katya just kept going through her head. 

It had been a shock to see her again, even if she didn't show it. A lot of the memories were still blurry, but the feelings weren't. It was like the past ten years didn't happen. Like they were never taken apart. It was so easy to fall back into making jokes and just talking to her. Her blue eyes were still the same, they hadn't lost that little sparkle of hope they had always had.

Natasha remembered how the teachers in Russia would hate Katya for that. They could never fully break her, but because she did everything they told her to, they couldn't just kill her either. She was too good of a spy for that, even better than Natasha.

That feeling of easiness and comfort was just immediately back. She didn't have to fake or act with Katya, because she saw right through her. They had gone through the same stuff together, so the other woman knew exactly why she was who she was, no explanation needed. 

Clint had been right, Fury was not happy she had brought Katya back. But he also understood, even if he didn't say it in words. And she would be forever thankful to him for giving her a chance.  
Ultimately, Natasha decided that sleep wasn't going to come today, so she did the one thing that would always calm her down. Shoot some guns. But that plan was ruined the second the doors to the shooting range opened. The bow gave him away immediately. Clint stood shooting arrow after arrow at a target, although he looked calm, not like her. Not like he needed to blow off some steam or clear his head.

''Can't sleep?'' His voice rang out. He didn't even turn around while he spoke, still focused on the bow. 

Natasha walked over to him, watching as every arrow hit the center dead-on. ''Nope.''

His eyes glanced at her face for a quick second, before loading another arrow. ''Does it have something to do with the woman sitting in the cell downstairs?''

No answer came. But no answer is an answer too, especially with Natasha. This finally made him stop shooting and turn his full attention on her. ''Listen, whoever she was all those years ago, she may not be the same person anymore.'' The redhead's eyes fell to the floor. ''People change, Natasha, so be careful, please.''

A strong desire to protect the brunette flared up in her, but Clint was right. She hadn't seen her for a long time and they had both grown up. Who knows what secrets she was hiding and what horrible things she had done. But she also wanted to give her a chance to prove that whoever she was now, is still a good person like the fifteen-year-old she once knew. ''You're right.''

''I'm sorry, what? Did I hear that correctly?'' He teased her to lighten the mood.

Natasha just rolled her eyes and walked out, leaving him to his shooting. Clint's advice had been more helpful than shooting a couple magazines into a target. So when she finally reached her bed again, she fell asleep not long after.


	4. Knives

Katya's sleep sucked, like always. Every night, the same nightmares would come back. Each time with different images, but the same oppressive feeling. Like she was suffocating. She had gotten used to them by now, learning to keep quiet and not move around too much. But she still sweat a lot and her heart raced in her chest.

So there was nothing else to do than take another quick shower, the water calming her down. It was just getting light out when a soft knock on her door broke her out of her head. It was meant more as a warning than a question, because she couldn't open the door herself, but she still answered with a simple yes.

The thick lock sprung free and red hair came into view first, followed by Natasha's whole body. A smile wanted to form on her face, but something stopped when she recognized the change in the redhead's demeanor. Katya knew all too well what this meant. It was her armor, protection, a big step backwards from the familiar feeling from yesterday. 

Her arms were crossed over her chest and eyes didn't even look at her. ''Follow me.'' Her voice was demanding and curt, no room for discussion or joking. Katya knew that her mood wasn't going to get better if she pushed her. Natasha was struggeling with herself, protecting herself, and if someone wanted to break through her walls, they would have to be careful.

She said nothing about the fact that Katya's hair was wet, a clear sign she had showered twice within ten hours, but Natasha did hold in her strides, knowing the brunette's leg still hurt and couldn't walk as fast.

The same interrogation room waited for her, but this time, there were no handcuffs. The feeling of being watched told Katya that someone stood behind the mirror again, watching her every move. She wouldn't be surprised if it was the Director again. She was quite a dangerous person if she had the wrong intentions by coming here. 

The other woman left for a second, without any explanation, before coming back with the best present ever; a steaming hot cup of coffee. It warmed up her whole body when her hands wrapped around the paper cup. ''Thanks.'' Katya gave her a little smile, but Natasha didn't react, just folded her hands together and stared intently with those deep green eyes.

Katya ripped her eyes away from her hold after a short silence, staring at the brown liquid in her hands. ''What do you want to know?''

''Secretary of Defense wasn't the only HYDRA in high places, was he?'' It was less of a question and more of an observation. 

Katya shook her head before looking up. ''No.''

Natasha leaned forward in her seat a little bit, trying to intimidate the woman in front of her. ''How many do you know off?''

''Not much. I know where they are, just not how many and what their names are.'' The redhead squinted her eyes, trying to see if she was lying. Katya was a good liar, but they had learned the same techniques to hide the truth so she would have been able to see through her. But nothing told her she was lying now. No change in voice, no looking away or staring to intently, no muscles twitching or heartbeat speeding up. 

''I was just an Agent. I had no power whatsoever. Everything I know, I know because I overheard things, doing the only job I was trained to do; spying on people.''

Natasha's face didn't change throughout her whole explanation. ''Tell me the things you do know.''

Katya sighed quietly. She knew many things, little things. No big, important piece of information. But she was ready to give everything she knew, ready to take down the organization that had treated her like an animal. ''Do you mind if I write it down? It's just a lot faster than explaining everything.'' But it would also be much easier to lie, Natasha knew that. This was a little test to see if she trusted her enough. 

Her green eyes studied her carefully, trying to see if this was a way to get away from the questions. Apparently, she found what she was looking for, because with one fluid movement, she stood up. ''Let me check.''

She came back a little later with some paper and a pen. ''Explain what you're writing down. In English.''

''Sure.'' So Katya gave her everything she knew. Estimated number of people in every organization and government, HYDRA bases she had heard of and ones she had been, complete with a detailed map of the facility, number of guards around every building, their patterns and weapons, any plans she knew HYDRA had to cause fear. Every paper was filled from top to bottom on both sides after more than five hours in there. Her hand hurt from writing, but she never showed it.

When she wrote the last word on the last blank space on the last paper, she dropped the pen and leaned back in her chair. Natasha had watched her write and draw carefully, seeing how her eyes lit up with new information every time it came floating to the surface. Her body was stiff from sitting in the same position for so long, but she was happy with the results from this session. 

Without saying anything, she picked up the papers and the pen and walked out, ready to verify all the information she had just received. Katya's stomach filled with a little disappointment when the redhead walked out without any form of a goodbye or thank you.

Around an hour later, an unknown agent who was clearly new, picked up Katya from the room and brought her back to her cell. The man was clearly nervous and intimidated by her, but did his best not to show it. When the door closed behind her, she lay down on the floor, staring at the ceiling for a long time before she had enough of laying still and she wanted to move her body. 

Keeping her body in top condition was important in her line of work, if that's what you could call it. You never knew if you had to run for miles, climb a high building or swim across a river. To be fit was to be prepared for anything unexpectantly thrown at her. Usually she would also practice her shooting and throwing a lot, but since they had robbed her of her knives, that wasn't an option. Her fingers twitched every now and then, missing the movement of spinning a small knife.

When she was tired and satisfied with her little work-out, she lay on her bed counting the tiles on the ceiling. Then the stones in the wall. Then the number of seconds between every time the shower dripped. 

Being locked up with nothing to do was her worst nightmare. Being alone with just her thoughts wasn't good for her. Her imagination running wild and hundreds of bad thoughts running through her mind. She was her own worst torturer. 

Finally being safe and given a second chance made her look back on everything she had done wrong in her life. Every kill she was forced to do. All the children she had made orphans. The people she had tortured for information. She was most scared of the monster that came out sometimes, the part she was forced to awaken and tried so hard to keep in control. Usually, it wasn't a problem, but when someone really pissed her off, she would snap and it wouldn't end nicely. 

It was what she needed to get rid of to gain everyone's trust here in SHIELD. That was going to be a long road. She knew how to make people believe they trusted her. But really trying for a long term to have somebody count on her, was going to be hard.

Natasha didn't return for the rest of the day. Only two times did another agent appear to bring her some food and water, but that was it. It was only eight o'clock, according to the clock on her wall, but since it didn't look like anything else was going to happen today, she just decided to go to sleep. The lights in the cellblock went out at ten every night, but Katya didn't need the dark to fall asleep.  
The days repeated themselves in this manner for a week. Natasha would show up at dawn, say nothing while taking her to the same interrogation room, sit patiently watching her write and draw for hours and then leave without another word. Every time, a different Agent would come to pick her up and bring her back to her cell, where she would work out as best as she could with her leg, count the tiles and stones again and fall asleep at eight. Her body had never been this rested and energized, but her mind got worse and worse.

That displayed in the form of little signs of restlessness, such as her fingers twitching almost uncontrollably. Natasha noticed, but didn't say anything until day seven, when they were in the room again. ''What's with your fingers.''

Katya couldn't believe her ears. Natasha had spoken directly to her for the first time in a week. ''So she does speak.'' Wrong thing to say, because the woman in front of her didn't react, so Katya focused on her moving fingers. ''They miss my knives. I twirl them around in my hand.''

No reaction came, but she knew Natasha had heard her. The woman always took in as much information about people as possible and she never forgot anything.

So when her cell door opened again a couple hours after another new Agent had escorted her back, she knew Natasha hadn't forgotten this detail too. 

Katya was laying on the floor again, staring up at the ceiling, but she turned around on her stomach to see the redhead stand in the door. ''Come on.'' It sounded a little nicer, just the tiniest bit, but it gave her new hope. Her leg had actually gotten a lot better in the last week than she could ever hope for. Whatever was in that cream healed her at least five times as quick as usual. So she could keep up with the other woman quite good, something she of course also noticed. 

''Training level'' Natasha told the elevator when they got in. 

''You know I can't fight with this leg.''

Her eyes went to Katya's restless fingers. ''You're not gonna fight.''

This was enough for her to understand what they were going to do. Natasha was letting her throw some knives.

It was something really stupid to get excited over, but she couldn't stop the smile forming on her face. 

The shooting range was very professional, something she had expected from a big organization like SHIELD. There were lots of targets to choose from. Moving one's, paper's with circles, but also some dummies which were especially good for knives. They would stick and not go straight through. 

Natasha opened a cabin on the side of the room and a large display with all sorts of knives came sliding out. It was like a candystore. Every single one was perfectly balanced and Katya's eyes immediately went to some small, thin ones. Perfect for throwing. But before she could pick them up, Natasha's voice stopped her. ''Don't try anything stupid.''

''Yes, ma'am.''

''I'm serious.'' The tone of her voice made Katya look at her. It held a little fear, worry, like Natasha was afraid she was going to throw away her second chance and she didn't want her to. ''The information you gave us all checked out, so Fury is giving you a little more space to breathe. But screw up, and you will still be kicked out.''

Her tone made Katya's voice turn serious too. ''I know, don't worry.'' Natasha nodded once and stepped back so the brunette could finally pick up the knives. The weight was exactly right and her fingers celebrated when they could twirl one around again. Green eyes next to her watched every move carefully, fascinated by the speed her fingers moved.

Katya asked for any sign of permission with her eyes, waiting for the other woman go give her the go-ahead. It came in the form of a little nod towards the targets. A smirk was the answer she gave back, walking to the other side of the room. Twisting her right shoulder a couple of times to warm up the muscles, she stood way further back than the yellow line on the ground, marking the start of the track. If she got this chance, she was going to impress Natasha.

One knife sat ready in her right hand, the left one holding the other four. Lungs taking a deep breath and eyes focusing on the hearts of the targets, she released the knife so fast it was almost hard to see she even moved in the first place. It spun in the air and then hit the material right in the center, where she wanted it to go. This gave her the confidence to throw the other four quickly after each other. 

It felt good to do this again, to focus on anything but her mind. When she was throwing or fighting or shooting, it was just her body and movements. It was really calming.

Natasha had to admit to herself that she was impressed. Not that she was a worse thrower, but there were very little people who could throw so straight and precise and Katya was one of them. ''Nice'', she said as the brunette walked forward to pull her knives out of the dummies.

''Thanks.'' She called back, her voice echoing through the empty room. Natasha had sent everyone out before she went to pick up Katya, not wanting to draw any unwanted attention or create problems. 

Green eyes followed her intently and when she arrived back at the redhead, Katya offered her the knives, the handles pointed towards her. ''Now it's your turn.'' 

Natasha looked away from the knives, to the rest of the room. ''No.''

''Please?'' The other woman used her eyes to try and convince her. ''I wanna see you do it.'' She even pouted very childish when eyes fell on her again.

She rolled her eyes and snatched the knives out of her hands. ''Fine.''

Now Katya was the one standing back and watching the other throw. Natalia's movements were more fluent and not as choppy as her own. It both worked and got the same result, Natasha's knives hitting dead center every time too, but her technique was much nicer to look at. 

This was so familiar, throwing knives together, training together, that both of them fell back into old habits.

''You still got it,'' she said when Natasha went to receive her knives. 

A little scoff came in return. ''I remember you being the one losing the little competitions we held.''

''And I remember you being a worse shot,'' Katya teased right back, also trying to get the other Russian to give in to a little shooting.

But she saw right through her. ''Nice try, but you haven't earned gun privileges yet.''

Katya shrugged. ''It was worth a shot.'' Mind the pun.

They threw for a while, taking turns throwing and a little teasing every now and then. They even ended up doing a little competition, which Katya lost, until Clint walked in, looking for his friend.

He eyed Katya up and down, not subtle at all, and then just completely ignored her as he talked to Natalia. ''Fury's asking for you in his office.''

''You know what it's about?'' She asked as she cleaned the knives and put them away where they belonged, the fun clearly over now. 

''No idea.'' He did know, but his eyes flashing to Katya revealed that he couldn't say anything in front of her. 

''Alright, tell him I'll be right up. Just have to put this one back in her cage.'' Her thumb jabbing at the woman next to her. 

''I got it.'' Great, this was going to be great.

Natasha saw the way he was staring Katya down, not happy with her being here, but still nodded. ''Don't kill her please'', her voice called out before she was fully out the door of the room.

Clint was too late to answer her, but that didn't stop him from mumbling to himself. ''Don't worry, already missed my shot at that.''


	5. Second Chances

Nobody showed up the next day.

Just the guys bringing her food and water.

It made her wonder if she had done something wrong the day before. Maybe she had pushed Natasha too hard, forcing her into something she wasn't ready for. 

Maybe the knife throwing had brought back some bad memories and she couldn't see Katya without immediately associating her with that hell-hole they grew up in. 

Maybe it was all a show and she didn't actually liked her.

But on the other hand, she had seen no forced smiles or weird behavior yesterday. And also; Natalia was always on duty so maybe she just had a mission? That would explain why Barton came to get her.

All these things went through her head while she stared at the door, sitting in the middle of the floor. Her hope slowly disappearing every hour that passed without any movement.

But it was just eight when suddenly, the beep of the lock told her that somebody was, in fact, coming in. She immediately stood up, prepared for whoever it may be.

It wasn't the redhead, something told her that immediately. Like she could sense her presence and know this wasn't it. Instead, Agent Barton walked through the door. Ah, she hadn't had him come and get her before, so this must be fun.

''Hands,'' he ordered, wanting to put some handcuffs on her.

Katya wanted to protest, but knew it wouldn't help her position, so she went for a half-protest. ''You know I can get out of these, right?'' Her eyes following his hands. 

Dark, warning eyes looked up. ''Don't even try.'' He pushed her out of the cell, although it wasn't too rough, and made her walk in front of him, clearly afraid she was going to run.

''Where's Natalia?'' Katya asked when they walked into the interrogation room again and she didn't see her old friend.

''Not here.'' He took a seat across the table, the one Natasha always sat in, and watched her reaction to his words carefully. His friend was on a mission, so they finally had some time to figure out the Russians connection to her.

Katya wasn't stupid, she knew the topic was going to be the beautiful redhead now that she wasn't here. ''You want to talk about her.'' Not a question, an observation.

He gave her a curt nod. ''Start at the beginning.''

She sighed and looked at her chipped nail polish. ''For as far as I remember, Natalia has always been there, sleeping in the bed right next to mine.'' She saw the image forming before her eyes, a little smile on her lips. Even though that part of her life had sucked the most, Natalia was the best thing to come out of it. 

''Her hair would stand out so brightly against the dirty grey bedsheets. The other girls used to make fun of her for it, but one day she stood up to them and punched one right in the nose. They never bullied her again.'' She could see the man's mouth twitch a little, apparently, this was still typical Natalia.

''We grew up together. Learning everything about being a spy. How to torture people for information, how to seduce men and women into giving up information, how to kill most efficiently, how to shoot a gun, throw knives, how to move in the shadows, you know the drill. But it wasn't in a friendly way, as you know. You have read her file.'' The silence gave her the answer she needed.

''They would push our bodies to the breaking point, pain was a daily thing and they would try and break us mentally. Even though they succeeded with most of them, they could never break us both. Natalia was more afraid, I could see it in her eyes. She would try and hide it well, but her hands were always shaking and nightmares filled her dreams.'' Katya shook her head for a second, trying to get that image out of her head.

''It was clear from a young age that we gravitated towards each other. We were also a little younger than the other girls, maybe that had something to do with it too. But we were always together, although in a non-suspicious way, because friendships were strictly forbidden. We didn't know what love was, because we had never experienced it, but we still found it in each other.’’ The man's eyes softened a little bit, clearly affected by the story.

''Unfortunately, they found out about us. One of the other girls must have ratted us out, because we were very careful. They caught us when we were making out. I think we had just turned fifteen at the time. That sounds very young, but you have to understand that we never had a youth. We were adults long before we turned ten years old, having seen and done things no child should ever have to.'' 

''They ripped us apart and beat us up so bad that I thought we were going to die. I had never feared death, but right there, I did. One man threw me in a dirty, small cell where they left me to rot for a couple weeks. I got food once a day, the minimum I needed to stay alive. And all I could think about was if Natalia was still alive. If she was undergoing the same treatment.'' She took a deep breath, breaking herself out of that memory.

''Anyway, after a couple weeks, someone came in, knocked me out and I woke up in a different building in a different bed. They had sold me to the highest bidder and that was HYDRA. I never saw Natalia again, although I did keep tabs on her. I was so relieved when I found out she was still alive and was so happy when I saw that you had taken her in and given her a second chance. If anyone derserves to be happy, it's her.''

She let out a deep breath she didn't know she was holding in and leaned back in the chair. Tired of telling that story. Barton watched her carefully while the gears in his head turned, trying to progress everything he had heard. But one question tugged at his brain. ''Why did you never come looking for her if you knew where she was?''

Her eyes fell from his down to the table again. ''She had made a new life for herself. Fighting for the good guys, that was something she always wanted. I didn't belong in that picture, didn't want to mess up whatever she had.'' She was getting emotional and she hated that, so she sniffed once and sat up straight again. ''Will that be all, Agent Barton?''

''No. I have one more thing to say and this is her friend talking, not her colleague.'' He got very close to her face, a warning flashing in his eyes. ''If you hurt her, I will not hesitate to take you out. Do you understand?''

A teasing smile formed on her lips. ''Don't worry. Natalia is pretty capable of killing me herself if I ever hurt her.''

''Shit, I like you,'' he murmured softly, unable to keep a serious face now. He pushed away from the table, standing up from the chair. ''Wait here, I'll be right back.''

Katya lifted her cuffed hands as far as they allowed her to. ''I'm not going anywhere.''

It didn't take long for him to come back, motioning for Katya to follow him, he took her all the way upstairs in the elevator. This building was huge, so that took a while. She didn't ask him where they were going, but she had her suspicions. They stopped in front of a door and she was proven correctly. ''Dir. Fury'' said the golden plate on the door. Clint fumbled around in his pocket and came up with the key to her handcuffs. Apparently, Fury wanted them gone.

He looked at her for a second, trying to gauge her emotions, but seeing nothing. ''Just don't say or do anything stupid.''

''Why do people say that to me all the time?'' He answered by knocking on the door. Fury clearly expected us or had already heard us, because he gave permission to enter immediately.

''Petrova for you here, sir.''

A tough looking, dark skinned, one eyed man sat behind his desk, his only visible eye looking up at Clint's words. ''Thank you, Agent Barton, you are dismissed.'' 

He nodded politely before walking to the door backwards. ''Yes, sir.''

Fury waited until the door closed to look at the woman and gestured to the two chairs in front of his desk. ''Sit down.'' Katya knew she had to make a good impression on the man. He would ultimately decide what her fate would be.

''Katariina Alena Petrova.'' He spoke her name very slowly. ''You have quite the impressive record. The Secretary of Defense who you claim was HYDRA, multiple government officials in Iran and Syria, some spies of British Intelligence, the bombing of the government building in Brazil.'' He put her file down, which Katya didn't know how he got his hands on, and looked at her sternly. ''Tell me why we shouldn't just kill you now. All these crimes have a life sentence and in your homeland of Russia, it would be at least a hundred death sentences.''

''And I would deserve that, sir. Like you said, I have done terrible things. Some forced and some not, but it doesn't matter what the reason was, I still did it.'' His face didn't move while she spoke, something that made her more nervous. 

''But I want to do better, I know I can. I'm tired of sewing fear and hate, to kill without mercy. I don't want to be that monster anymore that they made me to be, because there are enough of those in the world without me. I want to be the one to help fight them, fight the bad and terror. I want to protect children from undergoing the same fate as me and women from being used as slaves. I'm not asking for forgiveness, because that is something I will never get. I'm just asking for one chance to prove myself and if I screw up, you can kill me.''

''It looks like you are perfectly capable of doing that yourself.'' Fury was clearly not one to shy away from sensitive topics. His eyes looked at the insides of Katya's underarms. Although she had many scars on her body, these were the only ones she had inflicted on herself. 

Her voice became soft when she looked at where her long sleeve sweater had rose up a bit, showing the thick, deep line starting at her wrist. ''I didn't see a way out. I don't think I have to explain further.''

''No, but it tells me everything I need to know.'' She looked up at his eye once again, trying to see any emotion in it. ''Romanoff clearly trusts you and I trust her judgement. If she tells me that you won't be a problem and even Barton agrees that you deserve a chance, who am I to tell them no.''

Katya finally dared to have some hope, her eyes lighting up the slightest. 

''But know that I am watching your every move and if I have even the slightest of doubts about you being on our side, you're gone.'' The man threatened.

''I understand. Thank you, sir.''

He stood up, so she followed, putting her weight on her left leg. ''Barton will appoint you to a new room upstairs from the cells. I want you close to Romanoff, because she is the one responsible for you. So know if you screw up, she will undergo the same consequences.''

If that wasn't motivation enough for Katya, Fury didn't know what else could convince her. ''Good luck and welcome to SHIELD. Dismissed.'' He sat down again, clearly a sign for her to leave. 

So she did, giving him the same nod she saw Barton give. ''Thank you, sir.''

Fury watched the brunette leave the office. He didn't trust new people, but something about her made him want to give her that second chance quite easily. He guessed he just had a soft spot for young women who were forced into a life they didn't want. Besides, Romanoff had become one of his best Agents. One of the only ones he completely trusted, so this was also a gift to her. A reward for all her good work. Now he just hoped it wouldn't come back to bite him in the ass.


	6. Distractions

Fury wasn't joking when he said he wanted her close to Natalia. She was only three doors down the hall in this corridor that seemed to go on forever. She was happy she didn't have to walk all the way to the other side or even go to another floor to see her, but she felt really watched now.

But that is a good thing, Katya thought. If she hid too much, they would grow suspicious of her. The first few weeks were important.

Since Natalia was still on mission, Clint trained with her. After a few days, he actually allowed her to shoot a gun and he was impressed by her speed and precision. She wouldn't need much training in that, but he knew she had worked alone for most of her days and if she didn't, she was in charge of the team. Now, she had to listen to her leader, that was something Katya just had to get used to. 

After another week, her leg was healed enough that she could lightly start fighting again, just no kicks with her leg jet. So she sparred with Clint in a slow tempo. Just working with arms. It was clear to the man that Katya was better than he was. Faster. She fought a lot like Natasha, but that shouldn't have come as a surprise. 

Another week later, Katya could fully use her leg, so fighting became a little more rough. Clint had to admit that he loved fighting her. Because Natasha and Katya were so alike in style, he almost knew what the brunettes movements would be, so despite being better than him, she lost a couple of times from being too predictable.

The man got to know her a lot better too and was surprised at how open and free she acted. It may be a mask, but he didn't think so. She really was right when she said they never managed to break her. It was like her past didn't hold any power over her. But he saw the deep lines on her arms, the one that could only be self-inflicted. And knew that she may be fine now, but had once been going through a rough time.

Katya's nightmares continued every night. Waking up sweating and heart pounding. But something about this place calmed her down immediately. She had never felt so safe in her life.

One particular morning, about four weeks after her conversation with Fury, a knock came at her door early in the morning. She had just made some coffee in her tiny kitchen before going to train with Barton, so she was already in her work-out gear when opening the door. A big smile came on her face when she saw the person at the other side of the door.

''Morning.''

Katya couldn't help but make a sarcastic comment. Natasha's face told her she was in a good mood today. ''Thought you died.''

A scoff came from the woman. ''You can't get rid of me that easily Petrova.''

''You wanna come in? I made coffee.'' She held up her mug as clarification. 

The redhead walked in immediately, stopping in the middle of the room and looking around. ''It better still be hot.''

Katya chuckled as she poured the steaming brown liquid into a clean mug. ''Only the best for you.''

Natasha's soft hands gratefully took the mug from her, using it to warm her hands. Katya went to sit on the small couch in the non-existent living room and the other woman took that as a sign to sit down too. ''So, where have you been.'' Katya asked while blowing in her mug to cool the coffee down.

Intense green eyes stared back over the edge of her own mug. ''Mexico City. Right in the middle of the drug cartels. SHIELD has been wanting to bring one of the biggest drugs lords down for months and we finally got good intel.''

''So the mission was successful then.''

Natalia gave her that perfect half-smile only she could master. ''I'm always successful.''

The brunette rolled her eyes. ''Jeez, show off.''

Serious eyes looked at her now, changing the topic. ''So, what have you been doing while I was gone?'' 

''Well, as you can see, Fury finally decided I was too valuable to keep locked up in a little box.'' Natasha rolled her eyes this time, amused by her bragging. ''I moved in here about four weeks ago. I trained with Clint a lot, who really likes me by the way. I think I might steal him from you.'' 

The woman beside her scoffed while taking a sip from her drink. ''You do know he's married, right?''

''Oh, no, nooo not like that.'' She pulled a disgusted face at the thought. ''Besides, you know I like girls anyway.'' A little wink was thrown at the redhead, who had trouble hiding the blush rising on her cheeks.

Not knowing how to react, she changed the topic. ''Were you about to train with him now?''

''I was actually, but if you're offering... I need someone who can actually fight.'' Natasha laughed a little at that, knowing she didn't have too much trouble beating him herself. ''Clint is too easy to beat.''

''Don't let him hear that, he will retaliate in a not-so-nice way.''

''Sounds like you have experience.''

''Yes, and it wasn't nice.'' They both laughed at the silliness of this conversation. It felt so easy to talk, the words flowing out without trouble.

A little silence fell, both woman just enjoying each other's company and the warm coffee. 

Suddenly, Natasha looked up from her mug, her eyes studying Katya's face. The woman felt her eyes on her and looked up too, blue meeting green. ''I also heard you talked about me.''

''I'm sorry.'' Katya felt the strange need to apologize.

''No, that's okay.'' She shook her head and dropped her eyes back to her hands for the next sentence, unsure how to act. ''But I heard what you said, about keeping tabs on me. Why didn't you come look for me?''

''Like I said, you had left your past behind, I didn't want to just barge in on your life and mess everything up.'' Katya dared to reach out and touch the woman's hand quickly, making her look up in surprise. ''I meant what I said. That you deserve to be happy.''

Natasha's eyes softened visibly. ''But so do you.'' Now Katya dropped her eyes down, insecure about whatever she was feeling in her stomach at the moment. The redhead could see the humor in the situation, both women having no idea how to react to sentiment. ''We're really messed up, aren't we?'' 

Katya looked up, a little offended. ''I don't know about me, but you definitely are.''

Now Natasha looked offended, giving the other woman a little push that almost made her spill her coffee. 

''Let's go train before you break down my apartment.'' Katya laughed.

The woman next to her rolled her eyes but stood up anyway, quickly finishing her coffee and following behind the brunette to the gym.

~~~~~~  
Katya landed with a hard thump on her back, the air momentarily knocked out of her lungs. She was surprised by Natasha's attack and didn't expect her to play dirty. ''Dick move, Romanoff, going for my injured leg.''

''You should have known I would go for it.''

To be honest, Katya had been distracted a bit by the woman in front of her. Her movements were mesmerizing to look at and her green eyes studied her so intently that it was all she could feel. 

''Alright. Now I know what you're made of. I was just warming up, really.'' Katya grabbed the hand Natasha had extended to her, pulling her up easily. Straightening out her clothes, she took position in front of the redhead again.

A little smirk came on the woman's face. ''Sure. That's also what Barton says every time I put him on his ass.''

''Oh, you're gonna pay for that comment.'' With those words, Katya lunged for her opponent. Fighting with Natasha was like trying to force two magnets with the same poles together. Both equally strong and the first one to make a mistake would be pushed away by the other. They had learned exactly the same techniques, the same styles and same tricks. So Natasha was prepared every time Katya tried something and vice versa.

Barton watched amused and impressed from afar. The two women were like cats fighting. Elegant, extremely quick and vicious. It was hard to follow their movements and clear that they were on a whole other level entirely.

The fight went on and on without anyone coming out on top. Natasha was too smart to make a mistake and Katya saw through all her moves. 

Ultimately, Natasha was done and decided to play dirty, using Katya's feelings against her. She gripped the brunette's wrists tightly and pulled her towards her, chests almost touching. Deep green eyes pierced Katya's blue ones and before the other woman could resist her strong hold, she was surrendered to the redhead completely, lost for a second in her eyes. But a second was all Natasha needed.   
Clint watched as his friend swiped the woman's legs away and she found herself on the floor for a second time.

Katya knew immediately she had been stupid, hitting the mat with her palm, she yelled in frustration. ''Damn it! I can't believe I fell for that!''

Clint's laugh mingled with Natasha's, drawing everyone's attention to the three people in the middle of the room. A couple Agents had also watched the fight, silently picking a side and wanting to see how the new girl would hold up against the Black Widow. As soon as the fight was over, they turned around immediately, not wanting the scary assassin to come for them.

The blonde man wanted to say something, but was cut off by one angry Russian stare. ''Not a word, Barton.'' His hands came up in fake surrender, but the smile didn't disappear from his face.

''How about you try to win without cheating, Nat.'' Katya grumbled when she stood up again, tired from defending her attacks.

Natasha had to hold in a laugh at seeing her angry face. ''I didn't cheat, just used your feelings against you.''

''Yeah and we both know you my only weakness.'' All the fun was wiped from Nat's face at those words, the topic suddenly more serious than she wanted too. Katya saw she had ruined the good mood the spy was in, all because of one stupid sentence she shouldn't have said.

Without any explanation, the redhead turned around and walked out, something she apparently did a lot. Barton watched his friend leave without saying anything and the hurt in the brunette's eyes at her retreating figure. She groaned and covered her eyes in dejection. 

''That went well'', the man said as he reached her. He expected her to yell at him, but instead, she just looked sad. 

Katya glanced at him quickly. ''She's a real pain in my ass, you know that?''

''Yup, I knew that.''

A deep sigh followed his words. ''I get it, I do, it's just so frustrating she completely shuts down every time you try and give her the attention she deserves.''

He eyed her sympathetically. ''Just give her some time, she'll come around.''

She turned to him almost in shock. ''Does that mean you actually want me to be with her?'' She had expected him to reject her and protect his friend from her, but he actually supported it. 

''I'm not blind, Katya. Even though she tries to hide it well, she clearly still got a thing for you. I know her better than you think.''

''About that,'' Her face suddenly even more serious. ''I don't think I ever thanked you for giving her the second chance she deserved. I know you think it's no big deal, but people like us, we have no one to look out for us and you gave her that. So thank you.''

He could see she wasn't comfortable with saying thanks, but nodded nonetheless, happy with her gratitude. ''She never gave me one reason to regret it and neither do you.'' With those words and a soft smile, he left her standing there in the middle of the mat. Alone with her thoughts and feelings.


	7. Katariina

Natasha felt restless and confused. The training with Katya had stirred up some emotions she had finally pushed down in the four weeks she hadn't seen her. But when she opened the door and that beautiful smile welcomed her back with a joke, all the carefully stored away feelings came breaking out.

It was hard to tell what caused them, but her illuminating blue eyes definitely belonged on the list. They were so easy to get lost in, and losing control was something she just didn't do. 

That night she slept bad again, tossing and turning while trying to get her off her mind. But it was useless. It didn't take more than two months for Natasha Romanoff's old feelings for Katya to come back. Like they had never been apart. It was weird and terrifying and staying away from her was the only option, but she didn't want too.

She made her feel light and happy, something only she could do. Her aura and laugh didn't know about the effect they had on the redhead, who didn't want to have anything to do with feelings. 

A soft knock came on the door the following morning, just when she was ready to face the day. It was immediately clear who it was. Barton had a harder knock and always knocked twice. Other Agents wouldn't even dare to knock on her door.

Dark brown hair welcomed behind the door, unsure eyes that didn't belong to Katya were clearly afraid of her reaction. A sting somewhere in Natasha's stomach displayed the feeling of guilt she felt that she was the reason for her unusual sadness. 

''Hey. I know you don't want to talk to me right now, but I need your help.'' This piqued her interest. Her own feelings didn't matter if she needed help. ''Since I can't leave the building and this place doesn't have a build-in hair salon and I figured you probably have some experience with dying hair... Do you want to dye mine?''

When Natasha's eyes just stared at her, unsure if she was being serious, she continued. ''I mean, I have never dyed it myself and I don't know which color to go to.'' Her hands held up two packets of hair dye. One brown and one with bleach for blonde hair. ''I sent Barton out to get me these, I'm surprised he got it right.''

She looked so helpless and unsure that it was too painful for Natasha to say no to her. Opening the door, she made a gesture for her to enter. ''Thanks.'' Katya's eyes studied the apartment the same way hers had done yesterday, taking in everything.

There were almost no personal things in sight. No pictures, books or decorations. It was clear that Natasha liked simple and clean. A SHIELD laptop stood on the coffee table, she had done some research the day before.

''So, what do you think?'' The brunette held the two packets of dye up, not sure which color she wanted to choose. 

Natasha stared at her, trying to remember what blonde hair used to look like on her. Katya almost squirmed under her gaze, trying to suppress the heat flooding her cheeks. Without another word, the redhead walked to her and grabbed the bleach out of her hands. ''Definitely blonde.''

That light smile came back on her face, although a little cautious. ''Blonde it is.'' She trusted Natasha's judgement completely and followed her to the bathroom, where she made her stand in front of the mirror, under the bright lights. Her delicate hands opened the package and read through the instructions quickly, before mixing everything together and putting the gloves on.

That reminded Katya of something. Taking the hem of her shirt, she pulled it over her head, leaving her in only her bra. ''What are you doing?'' Natasha tried not to stare, but that only made it more obvious that she didn't want to stare, looking anywhere but in the mirror and the scarred back of the woman in front of her. 

Normally, Katya would have been reluctant to show her damaged skin to anyone. But she trusted Natasha and knew she didn't think anything of it, having some nasty scars herself.  
''I can just wash it off my skin, but I don't think Fury would appreciate if I walked around in bleached clothes.''

She didn't react to her words, too focused now on shaking the bottle of damaging liquid. In complete silence, Natasha started at the top of the hair and worked her way down carefully, making sure to get all the brown hairs wet. It took a long time, because Katya had a lot of hair. The smell was awful and she had to take deep breaths to not pass out. The woman behind her saw that of course, and opened a window, the cool breeze letting in fresh air.

Katya gave her a thankful smile in the mirror when suddenly, Natasha's hands froze. Her smile dropped, knowing what she had found. ''Nice, isn't it?'' She said sarcastically.

A shiver ran down her spine when the spy traced her finger over the tattoo, disgust written all over her face. She purposely looked at Katya for the first time today, eyes searching for any emotion in hers. ''This is disgusting.''

It was really her luck that she couldn't see the tattoo herself. A small but prominent HYDRA symbol was tattooed in her neck in a not-so-friendly way when she first came there. They obviously meant to mark their property. She hadn't tried getting rid of it, knowing any tattoo artist would have serious questions and she didn't want them asking them. 

''Yeah, tell me about it. Now you know why I always keep long hair.''

Hurt and anger filled Natasha's eyes, clearly not happy with this revelation. ''We're going to get rid of this soon'', she said determined. 

''I would like that'', Katya smiled back, hoping to ease her down a little bit. It wasn't worth getting upset over, nothing she could have done about it.

Shaking the bottle again, the last of the bleach came out and was spread with careful fingers through the ends of her hair. Finished, Natasha took off the gloves and threw them on the edge of the sink. 

''Now we wait twenty minutes. You want some coffee?'' She carefully washed her hands, making sure all the bleach was off. 

''You know me so well.''

Katya watched as the Russian's fast hands worked in the kitchen. She didn't even have to say what she had in her coffee, Natasha had already remembered she had it black.

She was doubting whether or not to say anything about yesterday, but she had no choice when Natasha asked her the question, not even turning around. ''What is it?''

''You know what.''

The redhead nodded, finally turning around and giving Katya her drink. ''I don't know what you want me to say, you know I suck at this.'''

She followed the woman to the couch, thinking of the right words to say without pushing her or making her angry again. ''You're overthinking it too much. What does your heart tell you?''

Natasha raised an eyebrow. Her heart was telling her that she wanted Katya to hold her like she used to. the only person who had ever felt like home when they didn't have any. But she was not comfortable talking about that sort of stuff, so he almost whispered her answer at her hands. ''Why are you not scared?''

''Because it's you, idiot. I trust you.'' Natasha's insides warmed up at her words, but when she didn't react, Katya decided to give her the time Clint said she needed. ''Look, I don't want to rush anything and I'm not asking you to make a decision now. I know you need time to figure it out and if you want to, I can give you that. But just know I'm all in if you are too.''

''I would like some time'', she admitted softly, but sure. 

Katya smiled at her. ''That's okay, I'll go back to kicking Clint's ass then.''

A smile came on Natasha's face now too, one eyebrow raised. ''If I remember correctly, I kicked your ass yesterday.''

''Yes, but that's because you cheated.'' Natasha shook her head laughing, knowing she was never going to win against her. 

After a while, Katya's eyes fell on the gun on the coffee table and she let out a jealous sigh. ''I hope Barton lets me have my own gun soon, I feel naked without one.''

The woman next to her nodded. ''I know what you mean. I never leave without it, although it looks like you might need your knives more.'' Her eyes gestured to Katya's twitching fingers, still moving even though they were holding a mug.

''Well, then, this might ease you down a little.'' She put her empty mug on the table in front of the couch and fished a small knife out of her boot, immediately twirling it around her fingers with a big smile. ''Don't tell Barton. I stole this knife.''

Natasha would have laughed, if not for seeing the large scar on the brunette's underarm while she put her mug away. Katya felt the change in atmosphere and saw the spy staring at her arm. Putting her own cup down in her lap, both gentle hands picked up Katya's wrists, turning them over so she could see the deep lines running from her hand almost to the inside of the elbow. 

Katya's first instinct was to twist her hands out of the redhead's grip, but something stopped her. She wasn't looking at her in pity like most people did, like Barton did, her green eyes were filled with understanding and anger. Like she was angry at the world for putting her friend in such a bad state that she saw no way out.

For Katya, that was a long time ago, but the scars would never leave, always reminding her of that day. ''Natasha,'' she whispered when the other woman just stared, not moving and not saying anything.  
Her eyes held pain and regret when they suddenly looked up. ''I'm sorry I wasn't there.'' Was she seriously blaming herself for this? Now Katya did tug her arms free, crossing her arms over her chest to hide them. 

''This is not your fault, Nat. None of this is your fault, okay?'' She knew it was no use to try and convince Natalia of something if she blamed herself for it, even if that was far from the truth, like right now.

The Russian nodded, but it was clear she wasn't convinced. But she sniffled once, letting the subject go and stood up abruptly when she saw the time.

''Let's wash your hair.'' They both dropped the subject, although Natasha was going over it over and over again in her head. Her slim fingers rinsed all the bleach from Katya's hair under the bathroom sink tap, carefully turning her head from side to side to get it all out while trying not to look at the tattoo in her neck. 

The result was amazing when she had also dryed and brushed her hair under protests of the now blonde woman. It wasn't the exact same color as her own hair, but the transition from dyed to new hair wouldn't be as obvious if it started growing again. 

Katya looked in the mirror unsure. She had been a brunette for two years now and had gotten quite used to. ''Why blonde?'', she asked. Wanting to know why the redhead picked the bleach and not the brown dye.

''Blonde is Katariina.'' Ah, she wanted her back to the woman she used to know, before they were all screwed up. ''Besides, the dark hair didn't fit your personality,'' she added with a casual shrug.

Katya scoffed. ''Why? Because it's so rainbows and unicorns?''

Natasha scoffed too. ''No, but it's lighter than dark brown.'' She handed her the sweater she had taken off before, not comfortable with a half-naked woman in her bathroom she clearly had feelings for.

She grabbed the sweater gratefully, answering her weird statement, unsure if it was a compliment or not. ''Thanks?''

Natasha couldn't help but stare at her. With this blonde hair, she was exactly the woman she used to know and that didn't help with the light feeling in her stomach. This was the one she fell in love with all those years ago. The confident, light-hearted, strong woman who didn't take anyone's shit. She wished she had had a little more of that herself, maybe she would actually reach out and touch her instead of taking a step back, trying to create some distance.

The blonde turned to the mirror again, studying herself carefully. ''You're right, it looks better than the brown. This is more me.'' But her eyes caught Natasha's face, clearly a war going on behind her eyes and knew it was time to leave. Gathering all the stuff and dumping it in the bin, she turned off the lights in the bathroom and walked to the apartment door, Natasha following her to let her out. 

''Thanks for helping me.'' The redhead nodded. ''And about our deal; take as much time as you need, although I hope not too much.'' Katya couldn't help but wink at her before walking out and to her own apartment, down the hall. Ignoring the eyes following her to her own front door, she unlocked it and disappeared inside.

Natasha was all sorts of confused when she finally closed the door. She had no idea how to deal with this sort of stuff, so she decided to go to the one person very experienced in this sort of stuff: her best friend. Her feet carried her to the elevator, one floor down. Even though he was married, a lot of the time Clint was here at SHIELD, living just one floor below her in a same sort of apartment. 

The door swung open immediately, knowing it was her from her knock. His smile faltered when he saw her face, something was clearly on her mind. ''Come in.''

She sat down on his couch, where he was clearly busy trying to figure out a lead. Papers were everywhere. The ground, the table, the couch. He collected them swiftly to make room for her to sit. ''What is that smell?'', he asked suddenly, scrunching his nose.

''Bleach. Katya asked me to dye her hair.'' Something in her voice faltered at the woman's name, giving Clint the information he needed.

''And I guess she is the reason you're here?'' He took her silence as a yes. Natasha never said more than she needed. Not when she knew you had already figured her out. 

The man sat next to her, trying to find her gaze. ''What's the problem?'' He didn't say it in a rude way. He really cared about her and wanted to help her the best he could.

She watched his face for a minute, unsure if she could really trust him with her thoughts. But this was her best friend, he never judged her. ''I'm scared,'' she admitted quietly.

''Of what?''

She scoffed. ''What not? Scared of screwing up. Hurting her or getting hurt. It's self-protection why I don't let anyone in, Clint.''

''I get it. But how is this different then me? You trust me right?'' She nodded once. ''Then you can find it within yourself to trust her. She cares about you, Tasha, I can see that very clearly. I mean, you heard the way she talked about you to me.''

''Yes, but she's not the person I used to know anymore. We both grew up and lived two whole different lives.''

''Well, I don't know about that. I don't know who she was, but I can see that she wants to do good, be good. You two are not so different as you might think.'' Natasha had to admit, he had a point there. She may not be the person she was, but she was still a good person like before. Besides, she was not the same anymore too.

He noticed the shift in her eyes, almost convinced. ''Listen. I say you get to know each other first. Go do some fun things, nothing SHIELD related. No fighting, shooting or throwing. Then you can get to know her and figure out if she still is who you think she is. Don't rush into this.''

''That's what she said, too.''

''And that's why I like her. She gets you, Natasha. Even more than I do. Just give it a chance, nice and slow.'' Those words made her nerves die down. Nobody forced her into this, she could take as long as she needed to figure this out. And she was going to follow her friend's advice. Get to know her first, take her out somewhere.

''Thank you.''

''Thank you for coming here and trusting me with this. Keep me updated on how things are going.'' He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, trying to lighten the mood and going back to his usual playful tone. Natasha glared at him and walked out without another word, back to the day at hand.


	8. Shivers

So taking it slow is exactly what they did. 

It was another few days after her little talk with Clint that Natasha had finally mastered up the courage to ask Katya to do something fun. It wasn't a date, more as a way of getting to know each other first without all the feelings involved.

Katya was really happy Natasha came back around so fast. She would really have to think Clint for being her wingman. 

Natasha had knocked on her door right before Katya went to bed. She was writing down the events of the day and anything filling her mind right now. It was something she always did to empty her mind before sleeping.

''Hey, can we talk?'' Natasha said from the door, watching as Katya put her book down. The blonde immediately saw she was nervous, her eyes darting back and forth in her room. 

Katya conjured up a kind smile to put the redhead at ease a little. ''Sure, come in.'' Her hand patted on the bed next to her. Natasha didn't smile back as she usually did, but nevertheless walked in and sat down next to the woman.

Her eye fell on the black book Katya had put down after she had knocked on the door. ''What were you writing?'' It was a clear sign she was trying to avoid the subject she actually wanted to talk about for a second longer.

''Anything that comes into my mind. Thoughts, memories, events, feelings.'' She put extra emphasis on the last word, letting the redhead know she knew why she was here and there was no point avoiding it. It caused Nat to break eye contact and look down at her hands in her lap. She wasn't one to make small talk so whatever she wanted to say must be hard for her.

It was quiet for a while, but Katya didn't push her. This was typical behavior from her. She was uncomfortable talking about something and had to find the courage to say the words she wanted to say.

Finally, after a torturing long minute, her green eyes looked up from her hands and stared into Katya's. ''You want to do something tomorrow? Nothing too serious, just getting to know each other.''

Katya's brain was itching to tease her to lighten the mood, but that would just make Nat more insecure about this whole situation. This was a big thing for her and she didn't want to make fun of it. So she put on the brightest smile she could manage and answered honestly. ''I would love to.''

Natasha's eyes lit up, maybe not having expected her to say yes or just having created a distance to protect her feelings in case she would have said no. ''Great, I'll pick you up tomorrow then.'' She surpressed the joy she was feeling to not scare Katya off too much, but she didn't realize nothing could scare her off at this point.

Katya nodded her head. ''I'll see you tomorrow.'' Her eyes followed the spy as she stood up and walked out the door, closing it behind her. She was feeling the same joy Natasha did. Never would she have expected her to ask her this so quickly, let alone this direct.

It was really nothing special, but good enough for the first day out. They just went to get some lunch in a little café and then walked around DC for a little while. Because Katya had never been here, Natasha showed her the landmarks and told some things about them. But they mostly just talked. About themselves, their shitty lives, all the things they missed out on because they weren't together.

Natasha learned that they had the same dry humor, that Katya loved the color blue and eating food, that she had become addicted to coffee two years ago and she really loved animals.

Katya learned that Natasha cared a lot about people, joined SHIELD five years ago, loves the color red because 'it's her color' and always wakes up before dawn to work out.

None of the two could ignore how good it felt to be in each other's presence, just talking about stuff that didn't matter with the sun on their faces. Natasha was always on edge around people, but with Katya, she felt at ease, knowing she didn't have to hide because she couldn't scare her off anyway.

Katya was constantly lost in the redhead's green eyes, like she was wandering around a thick, magical forest and had butterflies in her chest every time she looked at her.

They did these little things once every week, slowly getting to know each other and falling for the other a little more. 

This went on for three more months, with the duo also getting back to training with each other. Katya changed her sleep-schedule so she also woke up before dawn, before anyone was in the gym, so they could be alone. 

She always looked forward to those sessions, taking every chance at being with the beautiful redhead. 

At one particular morning, about four months after Katya they had re-met, Natasha walked in with the biggest smile Katya had seen on her so early in the morning. She had no idea why she was in such a good mood, but didn't need to know. It made her happy too.

''Good morning.'' She said when she walked in, dropping her towel and water bottle next to the mat. These little fights were always tiring, but so much fun. Katya got even better when training with the other woman than she thought she could get.

''You're in a good mood today,'' she smirked.

The Russian got ready in front of her, quickly warming up her muscles. ''I am ready to kick your ass.''

''Alright, come on then, Romanoff.''

The woman lunged for her, not hastily, but calculated. Katya saw it coming, dodging her body and throwing a punch at her ribs, which the redhead caught. It looked like this was going to be a long fight.

And it was, kicks and punches and nasty tricks thrown in here and there. Both taking some hits and giving them too. Soon they were sweaty and panting, but neither gave up. Then, Katya's focus was lost for a second and Natasha twisted her arms around behind her back, kicking her knees out so she was kneeling. But the blonde didn't give up, knowing she could get out of this. 

She knocked her head backwards, hitting Natasha on her forehead, which loosened the grip around her wrists for only a second, but that was enough for Katya to get her arms free and swipe her leg so Natasha fell on the ground. Not waiting for her to get up, she climbed on top of her and applied the littlest of pressure to her throat with her arm. If this was the real thing, it would get a little hard to breathe for the woman under her. 

A nasty Russian swear word was muttered under her breath when she knew she had lost. If Katya had learned one thing in these little sessions, it was that Natasha hated losing. She was really a sore loser. Playing games with her was probably a bad idea. 

Suddenly, her face turned red, even though Katya had already removed her arm from her throat. It confused the blonde for a second until she realized the position they were actually in. Her face was only inches from the other woman and their quick breathes were mingling together in the little space. Her heart raced but she didn't know if it was from the fighting or the beautiful woman under her.

Just when she was about to get off of her because she expected Natasha to push her off, the redhead took her by surprise. Maybe it had something to do with how happy she was today, but her soft hands gripped her face and closed the distance between their lips. 

A tingling sensation went through both of their bodies, starting at their moving lips. It was like they had been holding their breathes for weeks and could finally let go of the tension. A deep sigh came from Natasha, as if she had waited years to do this and finally got to kiss her. Her soft lips moved carefully but also eager. Katya took this as a sign and tangled her hands in the shiny red hair, something she had been wanting to do for weeks. 

It felt so familiar and trusted. Their lips and bodies fitting perfectly together, like they were made for each other. 

Hands removed themselves from the blonde's cheeks and travelled down to her hips, pulling her even tighter to the woman below. A low moan somewhere deep in Katya's body told Natasha she was doing a good job and she smiled against the other's lips. 

Both women clearly wanted more than this, but definitely not here and definitely not so fast. So Katya finally pulled away, her heart racing even more than it did before and her whole body tingling. Every nerve was on fire and screaming at her to kiss the gorgeous woman under her again, but Natasha wanted slow, so slow it was.

''That was something.''

Natasha still held her hips tightly, not wanting to let go yet, and laughed at her comment, her head clearly not straight. ''That it was.'' She was out of breath too, her cheeks almost as red as her hair.

Intense blue eyes stared down at her, carefully gauging her reaction. ''I have been wanting to do that for so long.'' 

She smiled back. ''Me too.''

''Finally!'' A loud voice came from the door. Both women whipped their heads to see Clint standing there, a very big smile on his face.

They sat up quickly, Katya holding out her hand to pull Natasha up. ''Jesus Christ, Clint. How long have you been standing there?'' The redhead asked, brushing down her clothes.

He walked in, standing next to the mat as he spoke. ''Long enough to see what I needed to. You have no idea how excruciating it was to see you two moving around each other in circles.'' 

''You are disgusting,'' Natasha said, although she couldn't hide the smile on her face. 

''I know.'' Katya pushed him but was still too high of that kiss to even be angry. 

It took three more months for Natasha to ascertain that Katya had nightmares every night, although she had her suspicions. 

This one on a rainy night in early February was such a particularly bad one that Katya felt like she couldn't breathe. So she actually sneaked through the corridor that night and showed another vulnerable side of her to the woman she had grown to love. 

Although there was no need for knocking, she knew she could always just walk in, she did it anyway, knowing Natasha was on edge when sleeping and would probably point a gun at her if she walked in without warning.

Rustling followed not long after, the spy immediately awake at the softest of sounds. Katya smiled at her messy red hair and sleepy eyes when she opened, but Natasha still saw that something was wrong. The blonde's hands were shaking and her breaths were shallow. She pulled her into the apartment with a soft tug on her arm. ''What's wrong?''

Her overprotective side that Natasha only showed for the people she cared about most, surfaced, brushing blond strands out of her face to see her eyes better.

''Nightmares.'' It sounded very childish, but Natasha knew that whatever she had seen while sleeping was far from suitable for a child. 

She nodded once, no explanation needed. ''You want to talk about it?'' She asked unsure, not really knowing how to handle this.

''Not really. I just came here because you always calm me down.'' It was true. With just a single look, she could ease her nerves immediately.

The tiniest of smiles formed on Natasha's lips, thrilled that she had that effect on her. The redhead shivered once, because she was only in a big shirt and the room was very cold and looked from her warm bed to Katya ''Let's try something new,'' and pulled her with her to the piece of furniture that indeed looked very inviting.

It was something they hadn't done in forever, sleeping in the same bed. Back when they were little, they would sometimes escape the handcuffs they were bound with at night and crawl into each other's beds. Their bodies giving them the warmth and feelings they definitely lacked.

It was almost shocking how perfect their bodies still fit together, like nothing had changed and they were back to being ten years old. 

Katya took in a deep breath of Natasha's smell, a mixture of cinnamon and something fruity. She still smelled the same. Her body heat warmed her cold hands and feet.

A shiver ran down the redhead's spine when Katya wrapped her arm tightly around her waist and her breath tickled her neck. Afraid that if she let go, she might disappear. 

Natasha smelled the honey shampoo Katya used. It was almost impossible not to, because the blonde had pushed her head into the crook of her neck, kissing her collarbone.

She smiled at her, even if she didn't see it. Maybe this was when she was most beautiful; no make-up, no fancy clothes or brushed hair. Just Katya, vulnerable but strong.

''Good night, Kat.''

''Good night, Nat.''

These nightly visits became more and more frequently, although not because of nightmares. Sleeping together just felt safe and warm. Even when Natasha left on missions, Katya would still sleep in her bed, enjoying her smell that hang everywhere in her room. That is how the redhead found her once, coming back in the middle of the night from a mission, exhausted and ready for some sleep.

A big smile came on her face when the saw the blonde sleeping soundly in her bed, like she was waiting for her to come back. It was a nice thing to come home to. 

So after that, Natasha just asked if they should turn this into a daily thing, since they slept together more often than apart. Katya had happily accepted the offer and now she came home to her every day.

After about a year since she first came here, Katya was officially cleared for duty, starting at level 1 but swiftly making her way up through the ranks. Fury was really happy with the spy and all the information she had given him. Because of her, dozens of people were exposed as undercover spies within high government organizations. 

So Katya left regularly on missions too, more frequently while she rose up in levels, but there was still time to see each other, luckily. 

Katya was the first one to say the three little words that scared Natasha so much. Just three words that held so much more meaning than only loving a person. It meant their happiness was more important than your own, in this line of work it meant 'I would take a bullet for you' and for Natasha it meant that she had utterly lost control in keeping her heart safe. It now belonged to someone else and knowing Katya could break it at any given time scared her to death. But she still said the words back, knowing she meant every single word of it. 

They had just done some shooting together in the shooting range at the SHIELD facility, something they both liked doing together instead of apart. It would always turn into a little challenge between the two, seeing who could hit the most targets within ten seconds and still hit bullseye every time, for example. 

It would need to be something challenging because just straight up shooting at an unmoving target was boring, both women hitting the center without even looking.

Katya had won today's game, hitting one more target than Natasha within the ten seconds and the air overall was just light and fun.

They were standing at the high table in the room, taking apart their guns and checking everything. They always did this. There was no time to check if you had to be on a plane within five minutes when a sudden mission popped up, so making sure your gun was good to go at all times was important.

But Katya couldn't concentrate on the parts in her hands, she was too distracted with the woman in front of her. The redheads fingers moved quickly and experienced, putting the pieces together almost at lighting speed. Her green eyes were focused on not messing up and a crease between her eyebrows told Katya she was very concentrated. Putting a gun together wasn't something you had to mess up.

She didn't know where it suddenly came from, but a wave of admiration and warmth overwhelmed Katya. They had been through so much together and still they were both standing here, in freedom, together. This was everything they had dreamed of together and Nat was still the kind, funny person she had always been. Life hadn't broken her.

The words were out before she could even comprehend what she was doing. ''I love you.'' It was almost a whisper, afraid if she said it too loud, it would be even more real. 

Natasha's fingers froze immediately. Her heart sped up in her chest, but the dread she had feared would come, didn't come. She stayed quiet though, her emotions taking over her mind and finding herself unable to speak for the first time in her life. 

When she realized what she had just thrown out, her first instinct was to apologize and brush it off, but she stopped herself before her mouth could open to say the words. What she had said was the truth, what she felt, there was no need to apologize for that. But the silence was killing her so she walked around the table and gently put her hand on Nat's shoulder. The redhead was still frozen in place, staring at the gunparts in her hands.

''I know that scares you, hell, it scares me to death too, but I need to say it. You don't have to say it back. I get it if it's too soon.''

She still didn't react, although her hands had dropped the gun and were leaning on the table now. Katya took this as a sign to leave the subject be, ignoring the tiny sting in her heart at her reaction and turned around to walk back to her side of the table.

But Nat's voice stopped her in the middle of the second step. ''Wait.'' Her soft hand grabbed Katya's wrist and turned her around. The blonde woman felt her lips on her own before her body was even fully turned around. ''I love you, too.'' Natasha murmured quietly after breaking away a little. She didn't look into her blue eyes while speaking, but dared to look up when Katya smiled widely. Her heart jumped at the happiness she saw in them, a reaction caused by her. ''God, you're right, this is scary.''

Katya just laughed while kissing her again. It already felt different, the next step in their relationship taken.

Let's just say that night ended very eventful. 

Together with Clint, they were the tightest group of people within SHIELD and there was no denying the results they got when they worked together on a mission. 

Because everyone was so well-attuned to each other, complemented each other and knew what the others were thinking, they always came home with a successful story, something Fury couldn't deny either. 

Katya and Natasha's relationship developed over the course of three years until the point where they were completely comfortable with each other. And they thought they had seen everything the world could throw at them, but three years after being reunited, they would get one of the biggest shocks of their life.


	9. A Mission

2012

Natasha had been gone on mission for the last month, going undercover somewhere in their home country of Russia. Katya was always restless when Natasha would go on long, deep undercover missions like this. Knowing the Black Widow was assigned to the most dangerous ones that no simple SHIELD Agent could execute.

But she also knew she could protect herself and she had a reason to come home. 

This day wasn't unlike any other. Katya woke up, drank her coffee, worked out and just wanted to start on her assignment when she got a call. Checking her phone, Director Fury's name flashed on her screen. 

Because Fury is not blind and knew she and Natasha were together, he had become more 'friendly' to her too. So to say she only saw the man as a distant Director would be a lie.

''Director,'' she said when she answered the phone.

''Petrova, I need you to call your girlfriend and then get Rogers. We have a serious issue and need all of you on the Hellicarrier. Get to Coulson, he will give you the details.'' Fury was everywhere and nowhere, and right now, he was on one of SHIELD's latest designs. A very big flying ship that could easily house two thousand people.

Katya nodded, even though he couldn't see it. ''No problem, sir. I will see you there.'' Hanging up, she speed-walked to the older man's office. She loved Coulson, he was the friendliest person she had ever met. Knocking on his door, he already expected her and explained quickly what Natasha was dealing with and how she would get her on the phone.

Nerves run through her stomach, knowing she would hear the voice she loved the most within the next few minutes. 

Coulson gave her a reassuring smile when the phone rang a couple of times. Finally, somebody picked up. ''да?'' (Yes?)

''дай мне Luchkov'' (Give me Luchkov), Katya said in a demanding tone, knowing one of his minions would pick up the phone.

''Who the hell is...'' Katya cut the man off before he could finish his sentence, trying to create some fake dominance. 

''You're at 114 Solenski Plaza, third floor. We have an F22 exactly eight miles out. Put the woman on the phone or I will blow up the block before you can make the lobby.'' She was quite proud of herself at how quick and demanding that sounded. Maybe that is also why he didn't hesitate a moment and after a second, a rustle told her she was talking to her girl now.

''Hey babe, we need you to come in.'' Coulson next to her rolled his eyes at the nickname, but said nothing, knowing they were really the worst.

Natasha's answer came quickly. ''Are you kidding? I'm working!'' She was frustrated that she needed to cut this short just when she was having some success.

''I know, but this takes precedence.'' 

The woman on the other end was still not convinced they really needed her. ''I'm in the middle of an interrogation and this moron is giving me everything.'' 

''I bet he is.'' Katya knew how persuasive and manipulative she could be when she wanted to. It wasn't rare that she used those skills on Katya to get what she wanted. Something the blonde was very aware off, but didn't really care about. She would do whatever Natasha wanted her to do.

''Look, you can't pull me out of this right now.''

''Natasha.'' She never used her full name until it was something serious, so the redhead was immediately on high alert, knowing something really bad was going on. ''Clint's been compromised.''

A beat of silence fell on the other side, knowing how much she cared about her friend, it was no doubt she wouldn't give in now. ''Let me put you on hold.''

Grunts and thuds and things breaking came through the speaker, clearly audible, even for Coulson next to her. They looked at each other amused, knowing Natasha was kicking their asses right now. Katya also couldn't help but be proud and wonder how this woman was hers.

Then there was finally silence, the blonde woman paying attention again because she knew there were going to be questions. ''Where's Barton now?''

Coulson shook his head at Katya, signaling they didn't know. ''We don't know.''

''But he's alive.'' It wasn't a question, just a hopeful statement. 

Now Coulson nodded, although a little uncertain. ''We think so. Listen, someone will brief you on everything when you get back. But first, we need you to talk to the big guy.''

''Kat, you know that Stark trusts me about as far as he can throw me.'' She had told her everything about the couple of months she spent with Tony Stark, being undercover in his company to keep an eye on him. The man was a pain in the ass, but she could see she secretly liked him.

''No, Coulson got Stark. You get the big guy.'' This actually scared her to death. Sending her to get the unpredictable person who could turn into a big green monster. Katya had met Banner, he was actually the nicest person ever and completely different than his alter ego.

Natasha was wary of the man too. ''Боже мой.'' (Oh my god)

''Be careful, please. I like you best in one piece.'' The concern shining through in her voice.

''Don't worry, дорогой, I got it.'' (Darling) And with that, she hang up the phone and Katya gave it back to Coulson. 

''You two are the cutest and at the same time scariest couple I know.'' He smiled at her. Katya knew he was a big fan of them, especially Natasha. 

''Thanks. I think?'' They laughed before he gave her the details on where Rogers was and how they were going to convince him to go with them. 

Katya still had no idea what was going on, but once Coulson carefully explained everything to her, she was in shock. Aliens from outer space? A god named Loki used a weird and very powerful power source to create a portal from space and then stole it from a SHIELD facility to use for his own gain.

All the while hypnotizing one scientist and a few Agents into working with him, including Clint. He was just at the wrong place on the wrong time. 

''You sure Rogers is ready, sir?'' Katya asked Coulson. The Captain had come out of the ice only two weeks ago and she knew he was struggling to adjust to the new era. She honestly couldn't imagine what he was going through. Losing everyone he knew in a tragic self-sacrifice, spending more than seventy years in the ice and coming out to a whole new world. A world that kept on spinning and evolving without him.

''No, but he will have to.'' All the reports written on the man said that he was self-righteous to the core, so they were almost sure he would join this mission. Katya was sure he would join. They would need him if they were going to fight a God.

She sat silently next to Coulson in the car, the man driving because he had done it a thousand more times than Katya, who preferred to travel on foot or with public transport to blend in better. Whenever she and Natasha went somewhere together, the redhead would always drive, right hand on the blonde's thigh if she felt like it.

The old gym, a 24/7 gym according to the sign on the front of the building, looked worn-out and just overall very old. But that is exactly what a man like Steve Rogers needed.

She just followed the sounds of grunts and dull blows. Leaning against the doorframe, it was obvious that he was having some sort of flashback to the past. His hands hitting the bag in front of him harder and harder. The man was actually tested for PTSD, but he didn't want any therapy, something Katya could understand.

But seeing him now, she wished he had taken up their offer. He was sweating excessively and his hands hit the rough fabric harder and harder, until finally, the bag flew off the hook on the ceiling, the filling spilling out. Her eyes watched as he picked up a new one and hang it on the same hook with one hand, something that was really impressive. 

Just when he started punching again, she spoke up, having stared here in the shadows long enough. ''Trouble sleeping?''

The man didn't even look at her when he spoke, already having sensed her standing there. ''I slept for seventy years, ma'am. I think I've had my fill.'' Ma'am? What a gentleman.

''Then you should be out, celebrating, seeing the world.'' She tried to get him out of his bad spot, but that didn't seem to help. He stopped doing what he was doing and walked over to the bench with his bag on it. She clearly interrupted his private time.

He unwrapped the tape on his hands, one at a time, sitting down. He answered her. ''I went under, the world was at war, I wake up, they say we won. They didn't say what we lost.''

''I admit, we've made some mistakes along the way. Some very recently.'' She threw up a little ball for him to catch on to, but he suddenly looked up at her. Not even knowing her name. 

''You have a name?'' It probably sounded more rude then he meant it too, seeing as he was tired and stressed. 

Her eyes lit up a little at his question, liking his boldness. ''Katya Petrova.''

He looked a little confused at her Russian name, but decided not to ask, probably because he expected it to just be another change he had missed while he was out. ''You here with a mission, Miss Petrova?''

She smiled a little at the usage of her last name, but didn't want him to feel stupid. ''Just Katya is fine, Steve.'' He smiled lightly at her, deciding he liked her. ''But you're right, I am here with a mission.''

His eyes dropped to his hands again. ''Trying to get me back in the world?''

''Trying to save it.'' Now he was interested, like she expected him to be. She handed him the files she was holding, the one about the Tesseract on top. He opened it to a picture of the blue cube, knowing exactly what it was. 

''HYDRA's secret weapon.'' He looked utterly disappointed and she knew why. He had risked his life trying to get that thing away from humanity, knowing the risks that went along with it. And here it was again, seventy years later.

''Howard Stark fished that out of the ocean when he was looking for you. He thought what we think, the Tesseract could be the key to unlimited sustainable energy. That's something the world sorely needs.'' She hoped Steve was up to date on the latest climate change news.

He looked up at her, his own blue eyes finding hers. ''Who took it from you?''

''He's called Loki. He's...'' She was unsure of how to say that besides everything he had to already deal with, Gods from space now belonged on that list too. ''not from around here. There's a lot we'll have to bring you up to speed on if you're in. The world has gotten even stranger than you already know.''

He scoffed a little. ''At this point, I doubt anything would surprise me.''

Ahh he was very wrong there, the internet didn't know everything like people always thought. ''Ten bucks says you're wrong.'' She hoped she was wrong, she could use that money to buy some food. She saw the information was overwhelming him and he needed some time to think. ''There's a debriefing package waiting for you back at your apartment.''

He hoists his bag over one shoulder and easily picks up one of the punching bags with the other and starts walking out of the gym, leaving Katya without another word. ''Is there anything you can tell us about the Tesseract that we ought to know now?'' She called after him before he made the door.

''You should have left it in the ocean.'' She couldn't help the smile that crept on her face, he was a lot funnier than they had told her. 

Waiting until she was sure he was a good distance away, she finally walked out the gym and got back into the car, where Coulson was waiting patiently. ''How did it go?''

She shrugged while fastening her seat belt. ''I convinced him.''

''Like I expected anything else,'' he smiled at her. 

Rogers was easy to read. He wasn't trained a spy, he was a soldier. So he wasted no time trying to cover up what he was thinking. The minute he saw the Tesseract, she knew he was in. It was almost two a.m. when they arrived back at SHIELD, but there was no time to rest. Katya packed some bags for her and Nat, because the redhead would go straight to the Helicarrier from Calcutta, where she had hopefully picked up Banner. 

She spent the rest of the night hours researching everything about the Tesseract and reading the files Fury had sent her. They were on all the people he was calling in: Tony Stark, Steve Rogers and Bruce Banner. She obviously didn't need a file on Nat, she knew more about her than whatever that said. 

Coulson knocked on her door a little past six, letting her know that Rogers indeed showed up at the front door, letting them know he was in. She smiled, satisfied at her persuasiveness and swung the two bags with weapons and clothes over her shoulders, ready to leave on this next adventure.


	10. Helicarrier

The Captain was waiting next to the small Quinjet they would take up to the Helicarrier. Katya could see how he was looking around with big eyes, taking everything in. Even though he was familiar with war, the technology had advanced a lot and the planes were a hundred times better than back in his day.

''Thank you for coming, Captain,'' she said when she finally reached him. Like before, he had already seen her coming and wasn't surprised she was the one escorting him again. 

Steve read in her eyes that she wasn't surprised to see him here, like she was expecting him. ''You knew I would be here.''

The woman shrugged. ''I had a strong hunch.''

Katya had learned how to fly the jets, but if she didn't have to, she never took the controls. It was tiring and she was already tired from the lack of sleep. Steve sat opposite her on one of the benches along the side of the plane, watching as she stuffed the two bags under her seat.

''You packed a lot.''

She smirked a little, meeting his eyes. ''Yeah, well, I like my own weapons.''

Coulson was star struck at seeing the Captain and although he tried to look as professional as he could, Katya still cringed at the awkwardness. The man took a seat behind a computer in the jet, doing whatever he still needed to do before arriving at the Carrier.

A silence fell though the jet, everyone busy doing their own stuff. Katya checked her weapons. Making sure the magazines were full and her knives were sharp. It was something she always did a little before going on a mission. You didn't want to be in the middle of a gunfight and then find out your magazines are empty. 

It also helped her from not thinking about her friend. Her stupid, kind friend who had to get himself in trouble. When her hands worked, her mind was empty.

Steve was reading through the personnel files of all the people Fury had called in on a tablet, really clumsily swiping back and forth, trying to work it. Katya could see from where she was sitting what files he was reading. He took some extra time studying Stark's file, which was logical because he knew Tony's father Howard. 

His fingers just swiped to Banner when one of the pilots interrupted the silence, letting Coulson know we were close to base. 

''We're about forty minutes out from home base, sir.'' 

This was a sign for him to get away from behind his computer and actually talk to the person he had been wanting to see for so long. 

''So, this Doctor Banner was trying to replicate the serum that was used on me?'' Ah Rogers was a quick study, understanding but also confusion fulling his eyes. He wouldn't understand why someone would want to recreate the serum. Katya stopped sharpening her knives, looking up to follow the conversation. If Steve was going to be on the team, she needed to know what kind of person he was.

''A lot of people were. You were the world's first superhero. Banner thought gamma radiation might hold the key to unlocking Erskine's original formula.'' Steve watched the clip from the distruction of Harlem the Hulk caused a few years ago, seeing the green monster slam into anything left standing. A little bit of pity shone through in his voice as he spoke.

''Didn't really go his way, did it?''

''Not so much.'' Coulson admitted. ''When he's not that thing though, guy's like a Stephen Hawking.'' Steve looked confused at the name, having no idea who that was. The guy actually turned to Katya for an explanation, which made her smile a little bit. Coulson wouldn't hear the end of this from her.

She tried to explain it simplest she could, not knowing how much the man knew. ''He's like a smart person.'' Now, understanding filled his face and Katya wanted to say something more before Coulson interrupted her. 

''I gotta say, it's an honor to meet you, officially.'' Steve smiles at him kindly, although the unease radiated off his body. ''I sort of met you, I mean, I watched you while you were sleeping.'' Katya cringed visibly, wanting to be anywhere but here.

Rogers didn't know how to react too, turning the tablet off and standing up to stare out the front window. But Coulson wasn't done, following and standing next to him. ''I mean, I was... I was present while you were unconscious from the ice. You know, it's really, it's just a... just a huge honor to have you on board.''

Katya covered her face with her hand, this was just so awkward and the Captain must feel so stalked.

Steve, clearly trying to make the man feel at ease, just ignored his rambling. ''Well, I hope I'm the man for the job.'' His voice was unsure, not knowing if he was able to keep up with this new world.

''Oh, you are.'' The older man reassured him. ''Absolutely. Uh... we've made some modifications to the uniform. I had a little design input.''

Now the Captain did look at Coulson, confused as to why they would want him to wear the uniform again, clearly thinking it was outdated. ''The uniform? Aren't the stars and stripes a little... old fashioned?''

''With everything that's happening, the things that are about to come to light, people might just need a little old fashioned.'' Rogers took in the sentiment, clearly fearing whatever he meant with 'things that are about to come to light'.

The peaceful silence came back, although this time, things were a little more awkward and Steve was lost in his head.

They were still standing there in front of the window when the Helicarrier came into view. Katya picked up the bags she had brought, carefully placing them over her shoulders, when Coulson called her over to the front. He pointed at the only speck of red on the deck, clearly the woman she had missed for a month. 

A breath she didn't know she had been holding for the last month, released from her body. She never knew if Natasha was coming back from her missions in one piece, but she was clearly on two legs, waiting for the Quinjet to arrive. 

The blonde woman felt the blond man next to her staring back and forth, trying to make sense of the smile and relief on her face and the woman on the Helicarrier.

She was the first one off the jet, meeting her girlfriend who waited at the bottom of the ramp. Dropping the two bags on the floor, she pulled her into a tight hug, happy to finally have her back. Natasha was not big on PDA, but this was an exception. Bright red hair tickled her cheek and lungs filled with the woman's perfume.

Letting her go after a while, Katya picked up one of the bags and gave them to her. ''Glad to know you're not dead, Romanoff.''

''Well, I have a good reason not to.'' A little wink followed her words. 

Two sets of feet warned them that the other two passengers on the Quinjet also came out. Natasha eyed the Captain up and down, already reading him, and put on the confident appearance she gave everyone but Katya. ''Agent Romanoff. Captain Rogers,'' Coulson introduced the two.

''Ma'am.''

''Hi,'' she answered curtly, but not in a mean way. She hated wasting time on pleasantries, especially when there was more important stuff going on. Her next words were directed towards the older man of the two. ''They need you on the bridge. Face trace.''

He was already walking at the last word, on his way to the bridge, leaving Nat, Steve and Katya standing there. ''See you there.''

The redhead started walking towards the railing of the ship, where Katya noticed she had placed Banner, who stood awkwardly in his spot. ''There was quite the buzz around here, finding you in the ice,'' she started the small talk with Rogers, who just looked very awkward again, clearly not comfortable talking about his time in the ice. 

Katya chuckled, still trying to shake the awkward tension from the jet. ''Tell me about it. I thought Coulson was gonna swoon.''

Natasha turned her head to her, a little inside joke bringing a sparkle in her eyes. ''Did he ask him to sign his Captain America trading cards yet?''

''Trading cards?'' Steve asked from her other side.

''They're vintage, he's very proud.''

Banner doesn't even notice them coming closer, nervous as hell. He constantly moves around as people keep getting in his way. Katya felt for him. Being roped into something you don't really want but with no choice to refuse is something she knew all too well.

Steve notices the doctor too, a little relief on his face as he now had somebody else to talk to. ''Dr. Banner,'' he greets him, which finally gets the man's attention.

Reaching his hand out and shaking the Captain's, the familiar face set him at ease. ''Oh, yeah. Hi. They told me you'd be coming.''

Both woman watch the conversation from afar, trying to make up their minds about the men. They were both clearly awkward and didn't necessarily want to be here, but still gave up their freedom to help fight this battle. 

''Word is you can find the cube'', Steve said.

Banner looked around, as if looking for something. ''Is that the only word on me?'' clearly meaning the Hulk.

Katya's attention turned from them to the woman next to her when she touched the com in her ear, somebody clearly speaking to her. ''Copy that.'' The blonde's eyes held question marks, wanting to know what was going on. Natasha shook her head, letting her know it was nothing serious, and pointed up. Now that everyone was here, the Halicarrier could fly. And you did not want to be on the top deck if this thing was flying a couple miles in the sky.

Stepping forward, she addressed the two man in front of them. ''Gentlemen, you may wanna step inside in a minute. It's gonna get a little hard to breathe.'' Katya could hear the smug half-smile she had on her face in her voice, even if she didn't see it. Natasha loved knowing things other people didn't and then tease them with it, seeing them squirm trying to figure out what was going on. 

Rumbling started deep down the ship, making Banner and Rogers look around confused, trying to determine what was going on. ''Is this a submarine?'' Rogers asked and Katya couldn't keep the smug smile from her face too. She had to admit, this was fun.

The two men start walking to the railing of the ship, Natasha following on their heels. ''Really? They wanted me in a submerged pressurized metal container?'' One of the four big engines the ship had, emerged from the water and the ship finally got loose from the water, heading to the sky. The men took a few cautious steps backwards, not wanting to fall over the edge. She couldn't hear what they were saying, but it looked like they were impressed. 

The ship climbed quickly so Katya picked up her own bag from the floor when Natasha reached her, the two men following her like lost puppies. The door to the inside of the ship wasn't far, but it was just enough to exchange a few words. ''You still in one piece?''

Natasha didn't look at her, but the little smile on her face told her she had heard her. ''You worry too much when I'm gone.'' She held the door open for Katya and the men following. 

''I have every right to worry about you. You're quite reckless you know.''

''So are you. I'm surprised Fury called you in for this,'' she teased her. Katya faked offense and bumped her shoulder into the woman's shoulder, making her lose her balance and step out.

A chuckle went through the empty hallway, pulling the men's focus to the two woman in front. They shared a confused look as to what the relationship between those two people were, but didn't question it. There were more important things going on. 

Tasha pushed the doors to the bridge open, revealing hundreds of people working efficiently behind computers, trying to find the cube and the missing Agents. The woman looked back at the men, knowing they were going to be impressed, and walked off to the Agent working on the face scan looking for Barton. Katya leaned against the big table, dropping her bag on top of it next to Natasha's and crossed her arms over her chest, watching as Rogers and Banner took everything in.

They were clearly impressed. Big eyes looked everywhere, trying to see everything at the same time. Fury stood in the middle of the room, clearly the most important person. She saw Maria Hill as well, someone she actually really liked. ''We're at lock, sir,'' the brunette told him.

The one-eyed man nodded once, letting her know he had heard her. ''Good. Let's vanish.'' Katya loved this part of the ship. The reflective panels on the outside concealed the enormous structure in the sky. People could look right at it but not seeing it.

Steve turned to her, his hand going to the inside pocket of his jacket, and gave her a ten dollar note. A smile tugged on her lips, he hadn't forgotten their bet from the day before and she waved it in her hand triumphantly. 

Now everything was set, the Director turned around to welcome his guests. ''Gentlemen.'' He shook Steve's hands and nodded to the woman. ''Petrova. Good to have you on board.''

''Thank you for calling me, sir,'' she smiled back.

''Not like I had an option. You're the only one who could convince Romanoff to come in.'' Katya smiled knowingly. Fury's words may sound harsh to the two new people in the room, but she knew he meant it as a joke.

He turned away from her and to the uncomfortable scientist. ''Doctor, thank you for coming.'' 

''Thanks for asking nicely.'' There was a little sarcasm in his words, which made Katya wonder what Tasha had to pull to get him here. Probably nothing good. He shook his hand before going back to clumsily fumbling with his own hand. ''So, uh... how long am I staying?''

''Once we get our hands on the Tesseract, you're in the clear.'' 

The scientist nodded, wanting to get out of here as quick as possible. ''Where are you with that?'' Fury gestured for him to walk to the railing, where Coulson stood below to explain the deeds. 

''We're sweeping every wirelessly accessible camera on the planet. Cellphones, laptops. If it's connected to a satellite, it's eyes and ears for us.'' Rogers looked confused that they could do all that and maybe also a bit disappointed. Katya noted this in her head. The man loved for people to have freedom and privacy, not be watched all the time. He wasn't in a good place if he really believed that.

Natasha had crouched down next to a computer, swiping the screen to see if there was any progress in finding their friend. Her voice was a little anxious and stressed when she spoke. ''That's still not gonna find them in time.''

Katya lowered her eyes to the ground. She had been able to keep Barton from her mind pretty good, but the longer they didn't find him, the more at risk he was and the more difficult it would be to get him back.

''You have to narrow your field.'' Banner was finally in his comfort zone, science was his territory. ''How many spectrometers do you have access to?'' He asked to Fury, who obviously didn't know the answer to that.

''How many are there?''

He took off his coat while he spoke, ready to go to work. ''Call every lab you know, tell them to put the spectrometers on the roof and calibrate them for gamma rays. I'll rough out a tracking algorithm based on cluster recognition. At least we could rule out a few places.'' When no one answered, he knew he had to do it himself. ''Do you have somewhere for me to work?''

''Agent Romanoff, would you show Dr.Banner to his laboratory, please,'' Fury called out to the red-haired spy. She nodded and stood, confidently walking to the Doctor. 

Banner was clearly intimidated by the woman, lowering his head a little in a shy manner, something that made Katya smile. Natasha had that effect on people. ''You're gonna love it, Doc. We got all the toys.''

Apparently, Katya's blue eyes followed the beautiful redhead a little too obvious, because Steve came to stand next to her. ''You two friends?''

Her head snapped to the man next to her, who looked a little insecure about asking such a personal question. ''I'm sorry. That's too forward of me.'' He immediately apologized when she didn't react.

Normally she didn't like people asking her personal questions, but she didn't mind talking about Natasha. ''No, it's fine,'' she smiled, trying to ease him a little bit. ''Tasha and I are a little more than friends.'' She wanted to see if he would figure it out on his own. Seeing as times had changed, it was the question if he was familiar with that part of this new world.

His face turned questionable for a second, before his eyebrows raised up in realization. ''Oh!'' he laughed sheepishly, scolding himself for not getting it immediately. ''Times have really changed a lot since the forties.''

''You have no idea.''


	11. Gods

Katya made herself comfortable in one of the chairs at the table. There was nothing for her to do but wait. She knew how the SHIELD technology worked, but there were much more experienced people already working behind the computers. It would only make their job harder if she tried to interfere with their work.

She also didn't know anything about the cube or science that was of use, so she also couldn't help Banner. That's why she sat slouched in the thick leather chair, legs propped up on the table. Rogers had given her a disapproving look, but he didn't say anything. This wasn't his territory, it was hers.

A couple empty cups of coffee and one half empty stood on the table in front of her, including some empty snack packages. Natasha would scold her for eating something unhealthy, but it was just too good to resist.

The redhead hadn't come back after showing Banner the lab, but Katya knew she had her own assignments and didn't go look for her. A distraction wasn't something they could both use right now.

So Katya waited and waited, listening in to Coulson and Rogers' awkward conversation. The SHIELD Agent had finally gotten the courage to ask the Captain to sign his trading cards. Natasha would have laughed at the predictability of the man.

A loud bleeping noise made her stand up from the chair immediately, knowing what it meant. ''We got a hit,'' an Agent named Sitwell said loudly, probably to Fury who had taken his place in the center again. Katya had a weird feeling about the Agent, like he was hiding something. ''Sixty-seven percent match. Wait, cross match, seventy-nine percent.''

Seventy-nine percent, that's a good match, too good to ignore. She effortlessly jumped over the railing down to the lower floor below and stood next to Coulson watching the screen of the computer. 

''Location?'' She demanded, knowing she was one level higher than the bald man and he had to do what she said. Sitwell narrowed in on the location, Katya sighing when she saw where the God was held up. Germany.

''Stuttgart, Germany. 28 Königstraße. He's not exactly hiding.'' That wasn't a good sign. A God is smart, right? So to be out in the open in a large building with lots of camera's meant he didn't care who saw him. Like he wanted to be found. But it was the only lead they had, still not having heard from Banner.

''Captain'' Katya looked back just in time to see Rogers turn to Fury, fearing his words. ''You're up.''

While the man speed-walked to the door, Fury looked to her next. ''Get Romanoff, you're flying.''

She nodded and followed Steve out, ready to suit up and get to the fight. They had to be quick. If Loki didn't care he was seen, than he wasn't planning on being in the same place for long. She pressed the com in her ear, knowing that searching the ship for the redhead would take too long. ''Nat, Loki's in Germany, we take the Quinjet in ten.''

''I'm on my way.'' The answer came back immediately. Katya found the first dressing room she could, throwing on her suit and putting her weapons where they belonged. Two guns on her thighs, knives in her belt, boots and sleeves, extra magazines in her belt along with some other fun things such as the throwing stars she stole from Natasha.

Her bag was stuffed in a locker and within ten minutes, she was at the jet, where Natasha was already waiting in the pilot seat, pushing buttons and flipping switches. The Captain came in last, just as Katya was finished braiding her long blonde hair. She liked it out of her face, unlike Natasha, who always wore it loose. She had no idea how she saw anything that way.

The tattoo in her neck had been covered up for a long time now, a nice rose in its place. The tattoo artist had done a beautiful job at hiding the logo, nobody could see that it ever was something that made her somebody's property. 

Natasha wanted her to get it laser removed at first, because having an extinctive tattoo in your neck is not something that's convenient for a spy. But Katya knew that lasers wouldn't get rid of it enough and there would always be scarring in the form of the logo. So ultimately, the Russian had given in and actually loved the tattoo now, sometimes tracing it mindlessly with her fingers.

The ride down to Stuttgart was quiet, Steve sat in the back, lost in his thoughts. Katya looked back a few times, checking to see if he was still alive because he was so quiet. The two women in front shared a look after another fifteen minutes had passed without the man saying anything.

''You good back there?'' Katya removed the headphones she had on that allowed her to talk to Tasha easier, so she could hear the man. You could say about her what you wanted, but she cared about people, she just showed it more than Nat did.

He looked up at her voice, her body twisted backwards so she could see him better. ''Yeah, I'm fine.'' But he was a terrible liar. Like, horrible, so she knew he was lying. He clearly didn't want to talk about it though, so she let it go, subtly shaking her head at the pilot of the jet.

It made her nervous to know if she could count on the member of her team or not. With Nat and Clint, you know they were ready for whatever the day would throw at them. They always had your back, no matter how hard the mission. But now not knowing if Steve could actually handle the situation was making her anxious. Not only for him, but also for herself and especially Nat. 

If anything were to happen to her because he didn't have his shit together, he was going to have some problems with her. 

Finally, after what felt like hours, Stuttgart emerged from the clouds. The museum Loki was attending a gala in was beautiful, but in front of the building, in the square, is where the commotion had moved to. A dozen copies of the weird, emo god stood around a very big group of people. He had forced them to kneel, everyone doing what he said, heads bowed down in fear. 

Suddenly, an older men stood up, thinking he was being brave when in reality, he was being stupid. There is a very fine line between braveness and stupidity and going against a god from outer space with a magic stick was just plain stupid. 

Rogers' eyes widened when he saw Loki point the spear at the man. He was just in time to open the ramp and jump down in front of the old man. 

Katya watched with interest as his shield reflected the light from the spear and returned back to Loki, knocking him on his ass. ''You know, the last time I was in Germany and saw a man standing above everybody else, we ended up disagreeing.'' Katya rolled her eyes at his dramatics, ready for him to just kick his ass and be done with this.

Natasha next to her sighed too, pushing some buttons to get the guns on the jet ready. 

''The soldier. A man out of time.'' Why the hell did the god have an English accent? 

''I'm not the one who's out of time,'' the Captain said smugly, knowing Natasha would take this as a sign to show the jet.

She flew closer, pushed some more buttons before the biggest gun this jet had, pointed at the god. ''Loki, drop the weapon and stand down.'' Her strong voice traveled over the square.

He didn't waste a second, pointing his own weapon and shooting a blue blast their way. Katya widened her eyes but knew that Nat was an experienced pilot. She maneuvered the jet just in time to mis the blast, which gave Rogers time to throw his shield at the god. A fight broke out between the two, something that Steve was clearly losing.

Even though he had super strength and whatnot, he couldn't take on a god.

The gun on the jet tried to lock on to Loki, but Steve was too much in the way. A shot could mean that he was hit too and that wasn't what they wanted, obviously. A deep frown appeared on Natasha's face as she was struggling to work the technology. ''The guy's all over the place.''

Katya almost got a heart attack when a hard rock song blasted through the speakers inside and outside the jet. She looked at the woman next to her confused and saw she had the same expression on her face. The screens told them that the systems were being overridden, something that was almost impossible to do since this was a SHIELD jet.

''Agent Romanoff, did you miss me?'' The frowns disappeared and understanding filled their faces when Stark spoke through the comms, having hacked his way into the system. A little smirk adorned Natasha’s face. She could appreciate the humor the man had.

''Girlfriend,'' he greeted Katya, who threw a glare his way even though he couldn't see it. Literally the only way Stark saw her was as Natasha's girlfriend, so he called her that a lot of the time. She didn't really mind, but would never admit that to the man. 

The woman next to her chuckled, which earned her the same glare she had thrown the man in the sky.

Tony blasted Loki backwards with both hands and landed in a very exaggerated superhero pose, clearly meaning to show off. Katya saw Nat rolling her eyes in her peripheral vision. 

Out of Tony's suit came every weapon it held, making a very threatening display. ''Make your move, Reindeer Games.'' Although Katya knew these human made weapons wouldn't defeat the god, he still surrendered, the armor disappearing and holding up his hands.

She shared a confused look with Natasha. Something else was going on. Rogers and Stark had no chance taking out the god with just the two of them. Loki knew that too, but he still surrendered. This didn't feel right, but they decided not to question it. They had him, that's what matters.

Tony, knowing he had won, retracted his weapons. ''Good move.''

The Captain joined him, panting lightly from the fight. ''Mr. Stark.''

''Captain.''

These people were not going to click. Katya knew that immediately. The Captain was way too uptight and serious. Stark was exactly the opposite, always joking around. A clash was inevitable and it would come sooner rather than later.

The Quinjet lowered slowly, the redhead parking it professionally on the empty streets so they could take in Loki. Cap had restrained him and pushed him roughly in their direction, forcing the god to sit down on the bench along one of the walls inside the jet.

Both the Captain and Stark stood awkwardly in the back, not comfortable with the god around and on edge in case he tried something. You could cut the tension with a knife and Katya wanted to get back to base as soon as possible. The silence was making her skin crawl.

The black night sky was calm. A couple clouds but nothing Nat couldn't handle. 

''Said anything?'' Fury's words suddenly cut through the silence, making Katya jump a little. 

She answered uncomfortably. The god was being way too cooperating. ''Not a word.''

''Just get him here. We're low on time.'' He didn't have to remind them of that. They knew Barton was at risk every second they wasted.

She looked back another time, seeing Cap and Stark whispering, stealing glances at the god who clearly knew they were talking about him. Rogers looked pissed at one point, while Tony had a smug smile on his face. He was on one of his joking sprees, seeing a perfect victim in the serious man beside him. 

Natasha's voice made her turn around again, confusion in her voice. ''Where's this coming from?'' Thunder and lightning shook the jet. The storm had come out of nowhere, something that made everyone uneasy. Katya loved rain and thunder, but was deadly afraid of lightning. She once had a not-so-nice experience with almost being hit, but Natasha thought it was funny, the corner of her mouth slightly tilting up when the blonde gripped her seat tightly.

''What's the matter? Scared of a little lightning?'' It didn't come from the woman next to her, but from the uniformed soldier in the back, speaking to the god.

''I'm not overly fond of what follows.'' He answered in his weird accent. Uhm, what? What follows lightning?

A big thud came from the roof of the plane not two seconds after he muttered those words. Everyone looked up in shock, the whole jet shaking because of the weight of whatever landed on top of it. Natasha and Katya shared a look. This was turning into a fight like they had thought.

The redhead struggled to keep the jet straight, while a sudden burst of wind and noise let them know somebody had opened the ramp. Katya looked back just in time to see a blond man with long hair and... a hammer? Oh man, this looked like another god.

He punched Stark back with a simple hit of his hammer and ripped Loki free from the wall, grabbing him by his throat and flying back out the door. 

Even Natasha dared take a look back when Stark spoke, his voice very metallic sounding because of the suit. ''Now there's that guy.'' 

''Another Asgardian?'' She yelled back over the noise of the wind.

Steve, completely forgetting the little argument he just had with the man, stood up from where he had fallen down and yelled a question at him too. ''Think the guy's a friendly?''

''Doesn't matter. If he frees Loki or kills him, the Tesseract's lost.'' Well he wasn't wrong. But did they have enough strength to take on two gods? Stark made his way to the back, ready to jump out and follow the gods.

''Stark, we need a plan of attack!'' The Captain yelled. Really? Katya thought. This was not the moment to lay out a whole plan. They had to get to the men fast, before they were too far away.

''I have a plan. Attack.'' And with that, he jumped out.

Rogers plucked a parachute of the wall, which he had apparently seen on his way in, and began strapping it on. ''I'd sit this one out, Cap.'' Natasha said to him, flipping some switches on the ceiling.  
''I don't see how I can.'' The answer fit his personality. Always ready for a fight even though he didn't want to.

Katya joined in, trying to convince him to stay, even though Stark could use the help. ''These guys come from legends, they're basically gods.''

''There's only one God, Katya. And I'm pretty sure he doesn't dress like that.'' Grabbing his shield, he ran out the back, following the others to the fight. 

She shook her head and pushed the button that closed the door, so the silence came back into the jet and it was possible to talk normally again.

''First name basis with the Captain, huh.'' The blonde looked at Nat next to her, who had a smirk on her face.

Katya had trouble suppressing a smile. ''Do I sense some jealousy?'' She teased back.

''No. No jealousy. Just didn't know you two would get along.''

She chuckled, shaking her head. ''You're a terrible liar.'' Natasha was the best liar she knew, but to her, she was unable to lie, Katya always seeing right through her. The redhead laughed along with her, knowing she was found out. ''Don't worry, Miss Romanoff. If you try a little harder, I'm sure you'll be 'Natasha' to him in no-time.''

She shook her head, the smile still on her face. ''No need. I'm not here to make friends, unlike you.''

Katya shrugged, not apologizing for her friendly behavior. ''Well, you never know when you're gonna need some friends.''

''I already got you.''

''Smooth.''

''I know.''


	12. Conversations

Almost an entire army of SHIELD Agents stood waiting for them at the airstrip. They were armored to the teeth, the best protection they could have against a god. No, wait, two gods. They still didn't know if the blonde one, who was apparently his brother Thor, was a friendly guy. Although he did let Cap take Loki in again and worked along with everything. So far, so good.

Katya made sure the jet was properly shut off and ready for the next person to use, before following the rest of the team to the bridge, where they took their seats at the table she was chilling on before.   
Katya always liked to sit opposite Natasha so she could see her better and also watch her back at the same time. It was a protective thing that had just slipped in gradually. Steve didn't look at her weirdly when she took the seat next to him, this time planting her feet firmly on the ground.

It was a spy thing to always be on the edge of your seat. Literally. Getting up quickly could be the difference between a bullet in your head or your shoulder. She knew which one she would pick.

Everyone was able to see the big glass cell Loki was placed in. It was designed for the Hulk, but a god would do too. Fury came into view, trying to intimidate the god, and his voice sounded loudly through the speakers. ''In case it's unclear. You try to escape. You so much as scratch that glass.''

Katya watched as he pressed a big button that opened up the hatch below the cell, revealing nothing but empty sky for miles. 

The god stepped forward, peeking over the edge. Only the sound of the wind would be enough to make anyone afraid, but not this god. 

''Thirty thousand feet, straight down in a steel trap. You get how that works?!'' Fury shouted over the noise, before closing it again, having made his point. ''Ant.'' He gestured to Loki and then turned to the button again. ''Boot.''

The black-haired god only smiled, not impressed at all. ''It's an impressive cage. Not built, I think, for me.''

Katya's thoughts flashed to Doctor Banner, who had been working on finding the cube in his lab the whole day and had come out only now to listen to this conversation. 

The man was so kind and would never want to hurt anyone. But the Hulk would sometimes come out on his own, nothing he could do about it. As a safeguard, Fury had ordered to have this cage built, in case he lost control.

''Built for something a lot stronger than you.'' 

''Oh, I've heard.'' Suddenly he turns towards the camera, knowing he's being watched by all of us. ''The mindless beast, makes play he's still a man.'' Natasha looked up from her monitor and carefully studies the reaction of the scientist, who just stared at his own computer. ''How desperate are you, that you call upon such lost creatures to defend you?''

''How desperate am I?'' The Director asked sarcastically. ''You threaten my world with war. You steal a force you can't hope to control.'' Loki watched calmly as the man came close to his cell, a thick glass wall the only thing separating them. ''You talk about peace and you kill 'cause it's fun. You have made me very desperate. You might not be glad that you did.''

Loki just laughed more, knowing he had gotten under Fury's skin. ''Ooh. It burns you to come so close. To have the Tesseract, to have power, unlimited power. And for what? A warm light for all mankind to share, and then to be reminded what real power is.''

Katja scoffed at the arrogance, earning a few weird looks from Steve and Thor. 

Fury had trouble keeping the smile from his face too, thinking this was all very hilarious. ''Well, you let me know if Real Power wants a magazine or something.'' Stalking out of the room, Loki watched him to before turning around at the camera again in such a creepy way it gave Katya goosebumps. He knew something and it was frustrating not knowing what it was.

The screens turn black, the threatning clearly over for now. Everyone just took in what the hell just happened while Bruce tried to lighten the mood by making a joke. ''He really grows on you, doesn't he?''

Steve was the first to react, ignoring Banner's sentence completely. ''Loki's gonna drag this out.'' He was right. The god had no reason to work with them, nothing they could hold against him, so he could drag this out for as long as he wanted. Leaving Clint and the other brainwashed Agents more at risk every second. 

Natasha was still staring at the now black monitor, Katya could see the gears in her head working, trying to form a plan or figure out what Loki was up to.

Steve turned a little to his left, where Thor was standing at the edge of the table. He hadn't watched the screen, but listened to the conversation. He must feel torn. This was his brother locked up. And even though he sucked, he was still family. ''So, Thor, what's his play?''

Thor turned around to the man, stopping his moping for a second. ''He has an army called the Chitauri. They're not of Asgard or any world known. He means to lead them against your people. They will win him the Earth. In return, I suspect, for the Tesseract.''

Katya's eyebrows shot into her hairline, completely shocked at what he just said. ''I'm sorry, what?'' The woman on the other side of the table shared a knowing look with her, feeling her confusion and shock. This was unlike anything they had ever trained for or seen before. It made them both feel uneasy that they didn't know what they were dealing with exactly.

Steve couldn't believe what he heard, too. ''An army? From outer space?''

Bruce caught on to what Loki was planning. If he wanted his army here, he would need a way to get them here. ''So he's building another portal. That's what he needs Erik Selvig for.''

''Selvig?'' The blonde god asked. 

''He's an astrophysicist.''

''He's a friend.'' Katya had heard of the events in England a couple years ago, where Selvig had found Thor together with one of his friends. The destruction was big, but apparently, he had befriended the man working for SHIELD now.

''Loki has him under some kind of spell,'' Natasha explained to him, before her eyes flickered to Katya's, ''along with one of ours.'' That dreadful feeling filled her stomach again and the hopeful smile she meant to give Nat turned into a grimace. 

''I wanna know why Loki let us take him. He's not leading an army from here,'' Steve said.

The low voice of Banner came from behind Katya. ''I don't think we should be focusing on Loki.''

She nodded. ''I agree. That guy's brain is a bag full of cats, you could smell crazy on him.''

Thor immediately took a step closer to the table, looking down on Katya, who didn't back down from his little display of power. ''Have care how you speak. Loki is beyond reason, but he is of Asgard, and he's my brother.''

Natasha, clearly not liking that her girlfriend was being threatened like that, spoke up immediately, shifting the god's attention to her. ''He killed eighty people in two days.''

That clearly faltered the man's confidence. ''He's adopted.'' Katya couldn't help but smirk a little. Natasha had gotten him to back down with a few simple words, nothing less, nothing more.

''I think it's about the mechanics.'' Bruce said from behind Katya, but she wasn't focused on him anymore. Her sensitive ears had picked up heavy footsteps coming through the corridor into the room. 

Natasha sensed it too, turning her head to look who came in. ''Iridium, what did they need the Iridium for?''

''It's a stabilizing agent.'' Ah, Stark had finally decided to show up. Coulson at his side, who he was sharing a few words with. ''Means the portal won't collapse on itself, like it did at SHIELD.''

Then he noticed Thor, patting his big biceps, which the god clearly didn't appreciate, he tried to ease the tension between them. ''No hard feelings, Point Break. You've got a mean swing. Also, it means the portal can open as wide, and stay open as long, as Loki wants.''

He kept walking until he reached Fury's platform in the middle of the room, acting like he was the boss now. ''Uh, raise the mid-mast, ship the top sails. That man is playing GALAGA! Thought we wouldn't notice. But we did.'' Steve looked confused, not knowing what that was, while Katya just rolled her eyes at Stark's theatrics.

The man raised his left hand, covering his eye, trying to see the screens on his left-hand side. ''How does Fury do this?''

''He turns'', Katya said dryly, just hard enough for him to hear.

''Well, that sounds exhausting.'' It kind of did, actually. ''The rest of the raw materials, Agent Barton can get his hands on pretty easily. Only major component he still needs is a power source. A high energy density, something to kick start the cube.''

Maria, who had joined the conversation quietly, raised an eyebrow. ''When did you become an expert in thermonuclear astrophysics?''

''Last night. The packet, Selvig's notes, the Extraction Theory papers.'' He tried to jog their memories, but it looked like nobody actually read them, except Katya. ''Am I the only one who did the reading?''

''I did.'' All eyes turned to her and Tony looked way too surprised for her liking, but Natasha didn't look too different, a teasing smile on her lips. Katya normally never read these sort of things, but because she had to wait for Rogers to show up last night, something needed to keep her awake besides coffee.

He walked towards her, patting her on her shoulder. ''Ah, Girlfriend, I'm impressed.'' 

''Touch me again and you'll have to replace that hand with one of your metal parts.'' Natasha snorted while Tony looked seriously scared, quickly retracting his hand and holding it behind his back.

Steve, who followed the whole interaction with a tired look in his eyes, interrupted the fun. ''Does Loki need any particular kind of power source?''

''He's got to heat the cube to a hundred and twenty million Kelvin just to break through the Coulomb barrier.'' O gosh, nerd talk.

''Unless, Selvig has figured out how to stabilize the quantum tunneling effect.''

''Well, if he could do that he could achieve Heavy Ion Fusion at any reactor on the planet.''

Stark gestured to Banner, happy he had found his science buddy. ''Finally, someone who speaks English.''

Steve voiced what everyone, including Katya, thought. ''Is that what just happened?'' Katya shrugged her shoulders when he looked at her, wanting to know if she understood.

''It's good to meet you, Dr. Banner.'' The mutual respect glistered in their eyes as they shook hands. ''Your work on anti-electron collisions is unparalleled.'' Just when she thought Tony might to through one conversation without making a joke, he opened his mouth again. ''And I'm a huge fan of the way you lose control and turn into an enormous green rage monster.''

Banner looks down awkwardly, not so happy now. ''Thanks.''

Fury was quick to interfere, walking back in from the conversation he had with Loki. ''Dr. Banner is only here to track the cube.'' It was a silent warning for Stark not to try anything with the Doctor. ''I was hoping you might join him.''

''I'd start with that stick of his. It may be magical, but it works an awful lot like a HYDRA weapon.'' 

Nat's eyes turned to Katya discreetly, not wanting to warn anyone else of her connection to the organization. The blonde nodded her head the tiniest, but she knew the other woman had seen it. It did look like the weapons she had seen at her old employer's bases. 

''I don't know about that,'' Fury denied, ''but it is powered by the cube. And I'd like to know how Loki used it to turn two of the sharpest men I know into his personal flying monkeys.''

''Monkeys? I do not understand.'' Thor spoke up for the first time again, having followed the conversation quietly.

Steve jumped a little in his seat, excited he knew what the man meant. ''I do! I understood that reference.'' He looked quite proud of himself and Katya couldn't help but give him an awkward smile to try and make him feel better about the fact that everybody else just rolled their eyes.

''Shall we play, doctor?'' Tony said from behind.

Banner gestured to the door. ''Let's play some.''


	13. Tricking The Trickster

Katya, again, couldn't do anything right now. 

Facial scans still ran for Barton and Stark and Banner were busy finding the cube. Steve had also disappeared, probably checking on the two man in the lab, hoping that would somehow make the progress go faster. 

Thor was in conversation with Coulson, who he had apparently met a couple years before and it seemed kind of personal. 

Where Natasha went, she didn't know either. The redhead had just left after Banner and Tony left too, not saying anything. Katya knew she was having a hard time right now, with her best friend missing.

She probably needed a little time. Not too much though. You never had to give Natasha too much time, because then she started imagining things and blame herself for everything. 

She would probably have to find her soon. 

But her stomach was rumbling again, the empty feeling of not eating after a mission was something she hated. So after being the only one left at the table, she made her way over to the big kitchen on the ship. During nighttime, like it was now, the place was always empty. Breakfast, lunch and dinner were cooked throughout the day, so you couldn't be in here then, but the night didn't present meals.

Katya had snuck in here before. People know she came here for the snacks in the fridge. Leftovers from cake or even donuts could always be found somewhere. This night, she was lucky. When Fury was on board, food always got a lot better. The chefs making a little extra for the big boss. So big sprinkled donuts sat on the lowest shelf of the large refrigerator.

Hopping on the counter, she swung her legs back and forth while devouring the snack, her mind drifting to the events of today.

Meeting two gods, a super soldier from seventy years ago and a guy who turned into a big monster when angry. Not her typical team, but she had to admit, they looked good. 

Loki scared the shit out of her. Not because he was scary, but because she didn't know what he was planning. She didn't like not knowing what people were thinking. Sitting here without a good plan, just waiting for something to do made her uneasy and anxious. 

Sleep threatened to take her over, but her tricks to keep it at bay were working for now. The load of sugar from the donut helped with that, but she would also need some coffee.

While sitting in the dark kitchen, the only light coming from the hallway through the open door, a presence suddenly got her attention. She didn't look up from her donut, but a little smile found its way on her lips. ''You gonna come in or just stare at me from there?''

She smirked a little, walking in. ''I knew I would find you here.''

Katya scrunched her nose while stuffing the last of the donut in her mouth. ''I'm becoming too predictable. That's not good.'' Wiping her hands on her pants, her eyes followed Natasha intently as she came closer. The dark of the room didn't do anything to the brightness of her hair, like it shone on its own.

The woman came closer, stopping just before the blonde's knees, something she wasn't happy with. Wrapping her legs around her waist, Katya dragged the redhead closer to her body. Nat rolled her eyes but still put her hands on the other woman's hips, a movement that had become quite natural.

Elegant hands reached up and played with the little red hairs on the back of Natasha's neck, something Katya saw she enjoyed. 

Normally, they would never do this in the workplace, but since they were alone in this kitchen, it brought both their guards down, just the two of them finally together after a month apart. Time to catch up wasn't available today, that would have to happen after this mission.

Katya's blue eyes searched for any emotion in the green ones that knew how to lie so well. While adoration was the most prominent emotion, there was also pain and helplessness, probably Barton. ''What's on your mind?''

Natasha sighed, looking down for a second. ''He is out there somewhere but we just can't find him.'' Katya nodded, knowing immediately who she meant and what emotions were going through her girlfriend.

''I know. It's frustrating to sit here and wait, not knowing what is going on. But we will find him so we can kick his ass afterwards.''

Her words of encouragement didn't completely reach Natasha, but she looked up and gave the littlest of smiles. ''What do you think about this team?'' Her change of subject was to let Katya know she was done talking about Clint and she knew better than to push her. 

''It's a mess, but it might just work. Stark and Rogers is going to be a problem though.''

Tasha nodded. ''Yeah, I noticed that too. Let's hope it doesn't explode on all of us.'' 

''Let's hope. Where you going somewhere before you came in here or did you just want to see your amazing girlfriend?'' Katya teased. The other woman rolled her eyes, something she did a lot with her, but the effect of the word Katya had used to describe herself was still visible. Natasha was quite possessive from time to time and loved when the blonde woman referred to herself as her girlfriend, someone who belonged to her.

''I wanted to ask if you'd come with me. Fury wants me to interrogate Loki, find out what his plan is.''

She scrunched her nose, not sure if she would want that. ''I don't know,'' she admitted. ''To be honest, he freaks me out.''

Natasha's eyebrows raised up, Katya was afraid of no one. ''That's a first.''

But Katya didn't feel completely comfortable leaving her alone with the god either. Who knew wat weird magic he could do through the glass. If she wanted to protect her against that, she would have to be there. ''I'll come with, but you get to talk to the guy.''

''Great, thanks.'' The sarcasm clearly audible in her voice.

''You're welcome, любовь.'' (love) The nickname earned her a little kiss from the redhead, who patted her hips as a sign for her to let her go and jump off the counter. 

Nat licked her lips, the sugar from the donut Katya ate now also on her lips. ''You taste nice.''

''I always do.''

Loki was pacing back and forth in his cell, way too relaxed for Katya's liking. He didn't even seem to notice them coming in, the two spies creeping up on him unnoticed. While Natasha stood in front of the glass, she felt Katya's eyes from behind her, where she leaned against the wall. As long as he left her out of the conversation, there was no way he could get under her skin. But the god was smart, so who knows what he would try.

The man suddenly stopped dead in his tracks, finally sensing their presence. ''There is not many people that can sneak up on me.'' Turning around with a smug smile, he stepped forward to meet the redhead. 

''But you figured I'd come.'' The woman who had kissed Katya only a few minutes ago had completely wiggled into the new skin she had picked out for this interrogation. The one of the cold, hard spy she was trained to be. 

''After. After whatever tortures Fury can concoct, you would appear as a friend, as a balm. And I would cooperate.'' Loki's eyes flickered to the blonde woman in the back for a second, but didn't say anything. Natasha was quick to draw his attention back to her.

''I wanna know what you've done to Agent Barton.''

''I'd say I've expanded his mind.'' Katya had to keep in a scoff. This man was full of bullshit.

Natasha walked to him very slowly, trying to show dominance and power. ''And once you've won. Once you're king of the mountain. What happens to his mind?''

The god smiled, seeing that Barton is a sensitive subject and a weak spot of hers. ''Is this love, Agent Romanoff?'' His eyes flickered to the woman in the back again, clearly sensing the connection here. 

''Love is for children.'' 

He raised one skinny finger, pointing straight at Katya. ''Than who's that in the back?''

Natasha's face became even harder than it already was, not liking where this was going. ''She-''

''No.'' He cut her off. ''I think she can speak for herself, can't you, Miss Petrova?'' She didn't even wonder how he knew her name. Barton probably spilled the tea to him. Who knows what this creature knows about her. 

Katya raised her chin and pushed herself off the wall, walking past Natasha to stand a little in front of her, drawing all his attention to her. Nat wasn't happy with this development, she could sense that. 

''We owe Barton a debt.''

Loki laughed smugly, walking backwards to the little bench in his cell, happy with this story-starter. ''Tell me.''

Natasha discretely stepped in front of the blonde woman again, wanting to tell this story herself. ''Before we worked for SHIELD, we uh... well, we made a name for ourselves. We have a very... specific skillset.'' That was one way to describe their skills. ''Didn't care who we used it for, or on. Both of us got on SHIELD's radar in a bad way. Agent Barton was sent to kill me, like I was sent to kill her, we both made a different call.''

''Ah, and that turned out quite well, didn't it?'' Neither of the woman reacted or even moved a single muscle. He had already caught on to everything, denying it would just look stupid. ''And what will you do if I vow to spare him?''

''Not let you out.'' Natasha immediately answered.

''Ah, no. But I like this.'' The laugh echoing in the cell. ''Your world in the balance, and you bargain for one man?''

Nat shrugged casually, as if it the fate of the world didn't matter to her. ''Regimes fall every day. I tend not to weep over that, I'm Russian -- or was.''

''What are you now?'' He looked between them both expectantly, wanting to see who would answer. But out of the both of them, Natasha was definitely the more dominant one.

''It's really not that complicated. We've got red in our ledgers, we'd like to wipe it out.''

''Can you? Can you wipe out that much red? Drakov's daughter? São Paulo? The hospital fire?'' He turned to Katya for the second part of his speech. ''And you. The bomb in The Louvre. The Pope on Sint Peter's Square. The orphanage fire.'' Katya dropped her head to the floor. All the things he listed were horrible killings she had done. These not even being the worst ones. Now anybody could love her despite her past was a mystery to her. 

She never talked to Nat about her actions, all the kills she did. Hundreds of innocents. If she asked, Katya would give her an honest answer. Problem was, she never asked. 

Loki finally stood up, happy his tricks were working. ''Barton told me everything. Your ledgers are dripping, gushing red, and you think saving a man no more virtuous than yourself will change anything?'' He raised his voice, yelling now. ''This is the basest sentimentality. This is a child at prayer, pathetic!'' He spat the last word. 

''You lie and kill in the service of liars and killers. You pretend to be separate, to have your own code, something that makes up for the horrors. But they are a part of you, and they will never go away!''

That was definitely true. Katya's nightmares never stopped, although they didn't happen every night anymore. That probably had something to do with the woman next to her.

Just when Katya wanted to take a step back, the god slammed the glass loudly, making her and Nat flinch. ''I won't touch Barton. Not until I make him kill you! Slowly. Intimately. In every way he knows you fear! And when he'll wake just long enough to see his good work'' Natasha turned around and walked away, stopping a few feet away from the god, her back turned to him. While Katya knew this was all for show and knew the god wouldn't get under her skin so easily, the words still hit the blonde woman, who also took a few cautious steps backwards. ''and when he screams, I'll split his skull! This is my bargain, you mewling quim!''

''You're a monster,'' Natasha almost whispered, distraught.

Loki laughed manically. ''Oh no, you brought the monster.''

Natasha's head whipped up and she turned around so quickly that you would have missed it if you didn't pay attention. ''So, Banner - that's your play.''

Loki looked so confused it was hilarious in any other situation. ''What?''

Natasha started walking away, talking into her earpiece rapidly. ''Loki means to unleash the Hulk. Keep Banner in the lab, we're on our way. Send Thor as well.'' Turning around one last time before walking out the door, the spy mocked the god, being played by a mere mortal. ''Thank you for your cooperation.''

The man looked utterly humiliated and confused, looking to Katya for any sort of explanation, but she just laughed at him and followed Natasha out, not looking back another time.


	14. Time Bomb

They walked through the hallways of the Helicarrier quietly and swiftly, but there was a weird tension between the two. The lab was on the other side of the ship, so they did have some time to talk.

Katya was trying to force back the haunting memories from all the things she did that kept showing up in her nightmares. For Natasha, the things she had done were stuffed deeper down her mind. The screams and cries of pain only coming back to the surface every now and then. But she would have to calm Katya down at least four nights a week.

It hurt her to see the blonde in such a state, even though she tried to be strong for her.

Now her green eyes fell to the left corner of her eye, seeing the far-away look on the Russian's face. ''The Pope? Do you know how long we were looking for his assassin.'' She smirked, seeing the humor in the fact that the one they weren't able to find for years was walking right next to her.

Katya turned her face to Nat. Although she appreciated her attempt at lightning the mood, it didn't help her. ''I'm sorry.'' She spoke softly, holding the redhead's gaze. ''About all of it. All of them.''

Nat's eyes softened, the humor disappearing. ''I know. You don't have to apologize.''

But Katya was already shaking her head, a frown between her eyebrows as her eyes turned to the floor. ''I do. I could never apologize enough to ever be forgiven.''

The spy reached out, giving the blondes hand a little squeeze to make sure she heard her. ''It's not words that bring you forgiveness, Katya, it's actions.'' She looked up, sending a smile her way as a thank you. ''We may never wipe out the red, but we'll try as hard as we can. That has to count for something, right?''

The tiniest nod came from the blonde, not sure if she deserved forgiveness for everything she had done in her life. 

The loud talking floated through the hallways, clearly coming from the lab. Katya immediately forgot her own problems, stowing them away for later and concentrating on the problem at hand. And by the yelling coming through the open door, it wasn't pretty.

''I was wrong, Director. The world hasn't changed a bit.'' Steve sounded really pissed, something Katya thought he wasn't often. The man seemed really nice and kind. Not someone to raise his voice easily.

Katya was one step behind Natasha when they turned the corner, into the lab. Steve and Fury stood next to a table that held a very familiar gun. When Katya had explained what the HYDRA weapons looked like and how powerful they were, SHIELD managed to copy them so they could fight evenly. 

It was the logical thing to do. If you didn't keep up with your enemy, they'll walk all over you in a fight. Even if you think it's not right to develop such weapons, they left you no choice.

Banner looks really pissed, standing behind a big desk, while Stark stood in the corner, arms crossed over his chest. He was clearly satisfied with his work.

''Did you know about this?'' Banner's eyes flashed between the two spies, both clearly on edge with everything going on.

''I suggested this'', the blonde spoke up first, causing all eyes to turn to her. She could feel Rogers' eyes burn into she side of her face, disappointment and anger radiating off him. Bruce wasn't much different.

Now disbelief was added to the mix, the scientist raising his eyebrows in surprise. ''You what?''

The woman narrowed her eyes, not liking the tone he was using with her. ''I spent eight years with the enemy, seeing their weapons evolve into something more dangerous than anything before. SHIELD had to do better, build better weapons, to stand a chance.''

Natasha watched how his fists tightened around the glasses he were holding. ''You don't fight the monsters by becoming bigger monsters, Petrova, that's not how it works.''

''Maybe in your world, not in mine.''

The woman next to Katya stepped forward, putting his attention on her. Bruce looked seriously angry and stressed right now and the Hulk on this ship could be catastrophic. ''You wanna think about removing yourself from this environment, doctor?''

Katya almost sighed, happy the attention of everyone in the room wasn't on her anymore. It wasn't that she hated the eyes on her, she just preferred to stay in the background, watching everyone from afar.

''I was in Calcutta, I was pretty well removed.'' It was almost a scoff, how the doctor reacted to Tasha.

''Loki's manipulating you'', Natasha tried to reason with him. Calm him down.

''And you've been doing what exactly?'' Well, he had a point there. Although he was smart for noticing that he was being manipulated. Natasha was very careful with her tricks.

''You didn't come here because I bat my eyelashes at you.'' Katya raised an eyebrow and turned her eyes from Bruce to Nat, not happy with the fact that she flirted with him to get him here. It was part of the job, but nevertheless, it was never fun to hear that your girlfriend flirted with someone else.

''Yes, and I'm not leaving because suddenly you get a little twitchy.'' He stepped to the side, gesturing to the screen that displayed all the plans for the new weapons. ''I'd like to know why SHIELD is using the Tesseract to build weapons of mass destruction.'' These words were directed at Fury, who he clearly suspected had the most knowledge about this.

The man hesitated for a split second before raising his left arm and pointing towards Thor, who had come in right after Katya and Nat. ''Because of him.''

The god was stunned and not at all happy he was being blamed for this. ''Me?''

The Director took slow steps towards Banner while talking. ''Last year Earth had a visitor from another planet who had a grudge match that leveled a small town. We learned that not only are we not alone, but we are hopelessly, hilariously, outgunned.'' He quickly gestured to Katya at the last word, confirming her story too. She raised an eyebrow at Banner in a way that said 'see?'.

''My people want nothing but peace with your planet.'' Thor protested.

''But you're not the only people out there, are you? And, you're not the only threat. The world's filling up with people who can't be matched, they can't be controlled.''

''Like you controlled the cube?'' Steve sarcastically threw in. She didn't know he was capable of sarcasm.

''Your work with the Tesseract is what drew Loki to it, and his allies.'' The blond god added. ''It is the signal to all the realms that the Earth is ready for a higher form of war.''

Steve raised his eyebrows, not liking the sound of that. ''A higher form?''

Fury ignored him and turned to Thor, angry now. ''You forced our hand. We had to come up with something.''

Now even Stark joined the mix, throwing in his own opinion. ''Nuclear deterrent. 'Cause that always calms everything right down.''

''Remind me again how you made your fortune, Stark?'' This was very unlike Fury, arguing with people and getting lost in a fight. He was usually much more collected. 

Jeez, these people were like monkeys in a zoo. Everyone screaming and talking over one another. This conversation wasn't one relevant of having right now. What was important is that they found the cube first, they could decide what to do with it later. This was a conversation for another time.

Just when she thought maybe the conversation would be over, Rogers started again. ''I'm sure if he still made weapons, Stark would be neck deep in-''

He was not pleased with the sudden accusation. ''Wait! Wait! Hold on! How is this now about me?'' he said outraged.

''I'm sorry, isn't everything?'' Usually it was, but the man meant well and randomly accusing him of something isn't nice. Not when he had done so much to change that image from weapons manufacturer to energy giant. 

Thor scoffed, thinking the same thing as Katya and Nat, that these people were a bunch of monkeys. ''I thought humans were more evolved than this.''

''Excuse me, did we come to your planet and blow stuff up?''

''Did you always give your champions such mistrust?'' The fight only got more heated, the words flying faster and faster.

Finally, Natasha speaks up from next to Katya, who is not happy with that. ''Are you boys really that naive? SHIELD monitors potential threats.''

''Nat, it's not worth it.'' She warns her, but the woman just ignores her. 

Banner's whole face turned into pure confusion. ''Captain America is on threat watch?''

''We all are.''

Katya definitely stood on that list. Even though she had been with SHIELD for three years now, it wasn't nearly long enough to make them trust her completely. For all they know, she was just a HYDRA spy living between these walls. 

''You're on that list?'' Stark turned to Steve, seeing a perfect opportunity to joke with him. ''Are you above or below angry bees?''

''I swear to god, Stark. One more crack-''

''Threatening! I feel threatened!''

Katya sighed, putting her hand on her forehand and shaking it slowly in irritation. This was supposed to be a team and everyone was arguing, talking over each other. They were a bunch of children.  
Her hand reached for her belt, where her favorite knife sat. The familiar feeling of twirling it around between her fingers calmed her down a little bit, but not nearly enough. 

''You speak of control, yet you court chaos.'' She could understand Thor. The god probably thought these were a bunch of weak humans fighting over nothing.

It suddenly became completely quiet, Banner's the only voice in the room right now. ''It's his M.O., isn't it? I mean, what are we, a team? No, no, no. We're a chemical mixture that makes chaos. We're -- we're a time-bomb.''

''You need to step away.'' Fury, like everyone else, was afraid he was going to turn into the Hulk, a problem they couldn't use right now.

Tony, always the jokester, put his arm around Rogers, causing his face to turn even more angry. ''Why shouldn't the guy let off a little steam?''

''You know damn well why! Back off!'' Steve pushed the man off roughly.

Tony didn't like that, coming up in the Captains face. The ego's these two men had was just incredible. ''Oh, I'm starting to want you to make me.''

The blond man didn't back down, only played into Tony's anger. ''Big man in a suit of armor. Take that off, what are you?''

''Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist.''

Katya felt Natasha make a 'that sounds about right' face next to her. The redhead had gone quiet again, probably sensing that this was not going to end well and her yelling along with the others was no use.

''I know guys with none of that worth ten of you. Yeah, I've seen the footage. The only thing you really fight for is yourself. You're not the guy to make the sacrifice play, to lay down on a wire and let the other guy crawl over you.'' Tony's eyes visibly saddened. He was always misunderstood like this. The egotistical playboy was just a facade, he actually cared about people but they just didn't see.

''I think I would just cut the wire.''

Rogers smiled sarcastically, not surprised at the joke at all. ''Always a way out. You know, you may not be a threat, but you better stop pretending to be a hero.''

That did it for Stark, the Captain finally getting under his skin. ''A hero? Like you? You're a lab rat, Rogers.'' He stepped even closer, chests almost touching now. ''Everything special about you came out of a bottle!''

Katya had finally had enough. ''Hey! That's enough!'' Walking forwards, she put both hands on either men's chests and pushed them apart as far as she could. Especially Rogers was quite heavy, so it proved to be difficult. They acted like it didn't even affected them, just kept staring at each other over her head.

''Yeah, this is a team-'', Banner laughed too from where he still stood in front of his desk. Katya didn't see him, because he stood behind her.

''Agent Romanoff, would you escort Dr. Banner back to his-'', Fury interrupted the man. 

''Where? You rented my room.''

''The cell was just in case-''

''In case you needed to kill me, but you can't! I know! I tried!'' Katya froze, finally letting her arms down and turning around slowly. Nat's eyes flashed to her for a second, knowing if anyone understood Banner, it was her.

Everyone was frozen and in shock, sadness, pity and pain on their faces. The fight was forgotten now.

''I got low. I didn't see an end, so I put a bullet in my mouth and the other guy spit it out! So I moved on. I focused on helping other people. I was good, until you dragged me back into this freak show and put everyone here at risk!'' The last sentence was especially directed at the red-haired spy who stood next to him. She was the one to pick him up and convince him to come here.

''You wanna know my secret, Agent Romanoff? You wanna know how I stay calm?'' Katya watched as he picked up Loki's spear while talking, the blue gem glowing brightly. Maybe that thing had something to do with the anger and drama in this room. 

Fury and Natasha's hands slowly went to the guns on their hips, while Katya readied the knife she was still holding, to throw. 

He was way to close to her girlfriend for her liking.

''Doctor Banner'' The Captain's calm voice spoke first, ''put down the scepter.''

Banner looks down confused, shocked to see he had picked it up without noticing. Whatever was going on here, it was making Katya feel uneasy and on edge. Magic stones wasn't something she was ever trained for and she hated not knowing things.

Precisely at that moment, the computer in the back of the lab beeped, letting them know it had finally found the cube. Everyone turned to look at it, except Katya and Nat, who waited until the Doctor had put down the weapon before following his movements closely when walking past them. ''Sorry, kids. You don't get to see my little party trick after all.''

The two women shared a look that told them this had been way too close for their liking.

''Located the Tesseract?'' Thor asked, not sure what was going on. This Earth technology was unknown to him.

''I can get there faster.''

''Look, all of us-''

''The Tesseract belongs on Asgard, no human is a match for it.''

O god, here we go again. Just when they thought everything was calm again.

Stark turned to leave, but Rogers grabbed his arm before he could. ''You're not going alone!''

''You gonna stop me?'' The other man challenged him.

They got in each other's faces again, just like two minutes ago. ''Put on the suit, let's find out.''

''I'm not afraid to hit an old man.''

''Put on the suit.''

But Katya wasn't focused on them, Banner's face had a concerned and disturbed look on it. Whatever the computer showed him, it wasn't good. She stalked over to him, pushed him away quite roughly and stared at the screen herself. 

The Tesseract was right outside of the ship, on a small plane nobody had noticed. ''Oh my god.'' She was just able to mutter those words before a big explosion rocked the ship and a blast came through the grates in the floor of the lab, everyone being blown backwards.


	15. Losing And Gaining

She was definitely knocked unconscious, because only Fury was left in the room when she woke up. Everybody else was gone, either fallen out through the window or getting ready to fight.

Her first thought was always Natasha and panic raised in her throat when she didn't see her.

Nat wouldn't leave laying here like this, so something must have happened to her. 

''Petrova? You good?'' Fury had pushed himself up from the ground with some loud grunts and stumbled over to the woman as best as he could.

Her head throbbed, probably from hitting the wall, and her left arm had a lot of glass pieces stuck in it. But overall, she was okay. 

Nodding, she gladly accepted the hand the man extended to her, pulling her up easily. 

''Where's Nat?''

''Don't know. We have to get to the bridge.'' The man knew Natasha could handle herself and didn't worry about her, but Katya had trouble following him out of the room and not start looking for her. He knew she would feel better and do her job better, knowing the redheaded spy was fine, so he asked into his ear anyway. ''Romanoff?''

She was panting and shaken up from the fall when she answered. ''We're okay.'' It didn't completely convince Katya, but it was enough to ease her nerves a little bit. ''Katya?'' The question was directed at Fury, but the blonde woman answered herself.

''I'm with Fury. Be careful please.''

''You too.'' The voice was too quiet for her liking, but knew she couldn't do anything anyway right now.

The loud roar of the Hulk scared Katya to death while running through the hallways of the ship. Alarms sounding and lights flashing very annoyingly throughout the whole walk over to the bridge.   
It was chaos when they finally arrived in the biggest room of the ship. Everyone was running and yelling, although weirdly enough, it was all in an organized manner. 

Fury immediately bolted to his own station, yelling loudly to the guy steering the flying trap. ''Bring the carrier inwards and head south. Take us to the water.''

''Flying blind. Navigations recalibrated after the engine failure.''

Fury was not happy to be contradicted right now. His one eye focusing angrily on the guy. ''Is the sun coming up?!''

The guy looked seriously scared, something that brought a smile on Katya's face despite the situation. ''Yes, sir.''

''Then put it on the left! Get us over water! One more turbine goes down and we drop.''

Katya stands a few feet behind the director, feeling pretty useless while he taps and swipes on his monitor's. ''Sir, what can I do?''

''Stay here, protect this room.''

While she watches the doors, windows and other entryways into the room carefully for any sign of movement, Katya tried her best to ignore the loud crashes and explosions in the ship. 

It wasn't clear where it came from, what it was, but the Hulk was probably responsible for a lot of them.

She had gathered that Stark and Rogers were busy trying to prepare the lost engine, while Thor was fighting Bruce on the lower levels. Where Natasha was, she didn't know. And again: she didn't like not knowing things. Focusing on her own mission was the best thing she could do right now, trusting the others to complete theirs.

Not even two minutes after Fury had given her her orders, a very familiar little object was thrown into the room, very close to Katya's feet. ''Grenade!'' The word was just out before it exploded loudly. 

She had thrown her body over the railing, falling roughly on the ground below. Between this fall and the one in the lab, there would definitely be a lot of bruises on her body tomorrow.

Gunshots made her stand up quickly, pulling her own gun out and finding the targets. Three men walked in in SHIELD gear, but it was clear that they were not their allies. These were some of the agents Loki had brainwashed. They couldn't kill them. The mind control was reversable. 

Fury took out two of the three men before the blonde spy could even stand up and shot the third one in his protective armor before he could kill Fury. Her shot wouldn't kill him, but it brought him down long enough for her to stalk over and kick him unconscious. 

Katya took cover behind some computers while shooting every person coming through the doors into the bridge. They just kept coming, not making any progress but not stopping either, so she didn't stop too.

''We got perimeter breach! Hostiles are in SHIELD gear. Hold on to every junction. The Hulk and Thor are in shuttle levels 2, 3 and 4!'' Agent Sitwell reported the events going on right now loudly through the room, so everyone could hear what a big drama this was.

Katya reloaded her gun, happy for the extra magazine she always carried. ''Sir, the Hulk will tear this place apart!'' Her voice sounded just over the loud shooting.

From the corner of her eye, she could see him nod. Yelling to Agent Hill, he ordered her to do something about it. ''Get his attention.''

The brown-haired woman ducked down, talking into her earpiece. ''Escort 606, proceed to wishbone and engage hostile. Don't get too close.''

Katya had a bad feeling about this. Shooting at the green monster with a fighter jet wasn't going to do anything and it only brought the pilot at risk.

''Target acquired.'' The steady voice of the pilot came in her ear. He was in for one hell of a flight. ''Target engaged.'' Over his radio, the gunshots were audible, firing at the Hulk to try and get his attention. But not even ten seconds later, she pilot yelled in panic. ''Target angry! Target angry!''

After that, the signal cut out. That was not a good sign. How the hell were they going to turn the Hulk back into Banner before he destroyed the whole ship. It was almost impossible to restrain him, let alone kill him. 

Meanwhile, the gunfire in the room died down, but the men were still coming. Fury and Katya picked them off before they were around the corner. Both spies were confused as to why they were still coming. They were making no headway.

''They are not getting through here, so what the hell-'' The man was cut off by an arrow flying through the air, exploding behind them. Clint. Only he shot arrows and was an enemy at the moment. 

Katya's heart stopped when she realized her friend was trying to kill them at the moment. Even though he didn't know what he was doing, didn't make it suck any less.

One arrow didn't go off, it lodged itself into one of the computers, hacking the system. All screens around Katya turned black, but she was too focused on finding Barton to see it. From above them, the blond man was just in time to dodge the bullets she fired at him.

''Engine one is now in shut down.'' O gosh, no. Because the engine was on the same side as number three, the whole ship toppled over to the left and Katya had to hold on to the railing to keep from falling over. If this ship crashed right now, hundreds of people would die and SHIELD would have some serious explaining to do to the government of the worlds. 

''It's Barton. He took out all systems. He's headed for the detention level. Does anybody copy?''

''This is Agent Romanoff. I copy.'' It were the first words Katya had heard from her in a long time, and even though she pretended to be fine, she could hear in her voice that she was shaken up.

''Petrova, get to detention. Keep Loki in his cell.'' Katya nodded at the order the Director had given her and stormed out the room, taking out any hostiles while running for the God of Mischief. 

The floor was tilted because the ship still ran on only two engines, so she had to put her left hand on the wall to keep herself upright. It took way longer to get to the detention level than she had hoped.   
Her foot kicked the only guard in the room unconscious before she even saw what was happening. Thor was locked in the cell instead of Loki, who stood at the controls Fury had threatened him with before. 

The loud thud of the guard hitting the ground is what made Loki stop moving and stare at the spy. Pointing her gun at him, she narrowed her eyes in anger. ''Move away from the panel.''

Loki smirked his famous evil smirk. ''Ah, the tortured killer. Have you come here to manipulate me again?''

A familiar presence emerged from behind her. Katya didn't need to look back, she knew who it was. ''She said move away please.'' Coulson's strong voice making the black-haired god look at him.

He went to stand next to Katya, one of the Phase Two prototype guns in his hand. This was a big one, something that could take on a god if you shot him often enough.

The older Agent held it up in a threatening way. ''You like this? We started working on the prototype after you sent The Destroyer. Even I don't know what it does.'' He powered it up. ''Do you wanna find out?''

Katya had no idea what happened next. She still didn't. Like she had said before, gods and magic was unlike anything they were trained for. All she knew is that the man next to her suddenly gasped and dropped to the ground. Thor's scream still echoed in her head, the despair expressing what she was feeling as she watched the man fall down. 

He had been so kind to her. Always. Even before she had proven herself. Nat loved him, he was like a best friend to her. She would be devastated.

The woman wanted to drop down in front of him and hug him, even though she wasn't a big hugger. But the threat hadn't left the room yet. 

Before she could fire her gun, Loki dropped the cage down into the sky, never to be seen again. The god stared into the hole in the ground satisfied before closing it again, stopping the noise from the wind from entering the room.

After that, he turned around to leave, clearly thinking Katya and Coulson weren't threats to him. The gun in her hand followed him as he walked, prepared for any sudden moves, when the man on the ground next to her spoke up weakly. ''You're gonna lose.''

The god turned around with that smile she wanted to punch off his face. ''Am I?''

''It's in your nature.''

He took slow steps towards the man, completely ignoring the blonde spy still pointing her gun at him. ''Your heroes are scattered, your floating fortress falls from the sky -where is my disadvantage?''

''You lack conviction.''

Now the god was pissed. ''I don't think I-'' but he didn't get to finish the sentence, because a big blast blew him to the other side of the room, falling through the wall into the space behind it.

''So that's what it does.''

Now that the god was finally gone and nobody wanted to kill her at the moment, Katya finally dropped on her knees in front of the dying man. She put her hand on his wound while tapping her earpiece with the other. ''I need medical in detention, now.'' Her voice was panicky but firm and an answer came immediately.

''You okay Petrova?'' It was Fury.

''It's Coulson, he- just hurry.'' She couldn't get herself to say the words, cutting herself off halfway.

Fear and concern were audible when he spoke again. ''We're on our way.''

Coulson put his hand on Katya's as a way of getting her to focus on him. ''Katya-''

''No. No goodbyes.'' She hated goodbyes and it took all her willpower not to cry right now. Her blue eyes focused on the man's blue one's, trying to keep him alive that way. ''You can't leave us. Natasha loves you. As do Clint and I. Just focus on me and you will be fine.'' Her free hand landed on his cheek, hoping the contact would get his attention.

A tiny smile somehow made its way on his face. ''I'm happy you and Romanoff found each other. Now you two will never be alone again. Take care of each other.'' His head rolled to the side, no longer finding the energy to keep it upright.

That was when Fury walked in. He must have ran here because it was a long way from the bridge. The woman stood up reluctantly to make space for the Director, who had more right to say goodbye to the man than her.

Coulson somehow saw Fury in front of him, despite his eyes being glazed over. ''Sorry, boss. They got rabbited.''

''Just stay awake.'' When Coulson's head threatened to fall to the side again, Fury grabbed his chin and forced the man to look at him. ''Eyes on me!''

''No. I'm clocked out here.''

Fury shook his head. ''Not an option.''

''It's okay, boss. This was never going to work - if they didn't have something - to -'' His last breath left his lungs before the final words were spoken. Nobody would ever know now what he wanted to say. He was gone.

Her hands began to shake. Not only in sadness, but also in anger. Loki did this and she would be damned if she didn't take revenge for Coulson. Even though she knew he didn't want her to do anything stupid. Water threatened to spill from her eyes, but she wasn't sure if it was the pain or rage.

Fury looked at him, maybe hoping he would wake up again. But nothing happened. Bowing his head in respect, he stood up slowly.

That was when the medics finally walked in, rushing to the dead man on the ground. Katya knew he was gone. There was no way to fix the hole in his heart. 

She turned around, no longer able to look at her dead friend, and leaned on the railing that used to surround the cell, staring at the ground.

It was a mess, this whole mission. Thor was lost, probably dead. Being dropped a couple miles from the sky in a trap did that to you. Banner was lost too. He fell from the sky while throwing the pilot out of his plane. The Helicarrier was seriously damaged and SHIELD had lost one of their best agents to ever work for it.

''Agent Coulson is down.'' Fury's hard voice broke through her thoughts.

''Paramedics are on their way.'' An Agent said back.

''They're here. They called it.''

Katya shook her head at herself, speaking up after a while. ''This is my fault.''

Fury looked up from where the medics were taking his friend's body away. ''Petrova, this is not-''

She cut the Director off, something she had never done before. ''Spare me the lecture. Did we get Barton?''

Fury stared at her for a second, unsure if he should just let her outburst go. Reluctantly, he answered her. ''Yes. Romanoff is with him.''

''Where?''

''Kat-''

''Where?''

''Medical.''

He watched as she stalked off, not even looking back at the lifeless body. Her mind had already moved on, shoved his death down. It were emotions she didn't want to deal with.


	16. Bad News

Quick feet were on their way to medical, not stopping for anyone or anything. Katya didn't run into Steve or Tony, they must be on the bridge by now. 

Her emotions were everywhere. Anger was most prominent. Anger towards Loki for all this shit and above all, Coulson's death. Sadness was second, for the loss of their friend and colleague. Last was a tiny amount of happiness at having Clint back, even if he wasn't completely himself yet.

Natasha didn't hear Katya coming, like usual. It was like the blonde woman moved in complete silence, as if she was the ghost they made her to be. So the spy only saw her once she entered the room, hands shaking and eyes darting left to right. She was visibly upset to anyone paying close enough attention, meaning only Natasha and Clint saw it.

A little sigh of relief came from Katya as she saw Clint on the bed. He was still unconscious, probably curtesy of one Agent Romanoff, but he was here and he was breathing. 

Taking a few steps closer, she didn't look at Natasha as she spoke. ''Is he gonna be fine?''

The Russian studied her for a second before answering softly. ''Doctors say it may take a while, but the mind control will leave. It's unsure what the consequences will be, though.''

''I'm gonna kill Loki.'' Katya turned to leave, but Nat grabbed her arm before she could take more than one step.

''Where are you going? There is nothing we can do until we know where he went.'' Concerned eyes searched the blue ones for any clue. 

Katya ripped her arm free, anger now prominent on her face. ''You don't understand Nat! It's my fault Coulson got killed. I didn't see through Loki's tricks and now he's dead.''

She knew Katya wasn't angry at her. The woman had to get the rage out of her system and she was just her victim for now. Could have been anyone, but that didn't mean she liked Katya yelling at her.

''He is the god of Mischief, Katya. Nobody could see through him. I think not even Thor understands his mind.''

''Stop making excuses for me.'' Katya hissed. ''Coulson was your friend, why are you not angry at me.''

The fact that she wanted Nat to be angry at her because she thought she deserved it, finally pushed the redhead over the edge. ''Because this wasn't your fault! Yes I'm sad he's gone, but Loki is the one who killed him, not you!'' She wasn't yelling, because the door was open and Clint was still out. It was more a frustrated growl.

Katya scoffed and opened her mouth to say something more, until Barton suddenly jolted awake. 

They had restrained him so he couldn't attack them again, and he was tugging at the leather bounds roughly. Both women looked at him, before Natasha gave Katya a look that said they weren't done having this conversation and she turned to the man again, sitting on the chair next to the bed.

Clint was shaking his head wildly, trying to get Loki out of his head. Katya stood back, watching him struggle with her arms crossed. It hurt to see her friend like this and she was afraid of what he would say to her when somebody told him the story about Coulson's death. She didn't deserve him.

''Clint, you're gonna be alright.'' Natasha said, trying to get the man to focus on her voice as a guide to the real world.

The mind control hadn't completely worn off, because he scoffed at her. ''You know that? Is that what you know?'' He laughed sarcastically, getting Natasha to stand up from the chair and pour him some water. ''I got -- I gotta go in though. I gotta flush him out.''

''We don't have that long, it's gonna take time.''

''I don't understand.'' He repeated the same words Katya had yelled at her a minute ago. ''Have you ever had someone take your brain and play?'' Natasha stiffened, causing Katya to do the same. ''Pull you out and send something else in? Do you know what it's like to be unmade?''

She did her best not to let the bad memories come to the surface, so she focused on Natasha best as she could. 

Tasha turned her head to Barton the slightest bit. ''You know that I do.''

Even in his confused state, he saw she was uncomfortable talking about this, so after a short silence, he broke eye contact with her and changed the subject. ''Why am I back? How did you get him out?''

The red-haired woman relaxed at this question, happy the sensitive topic was gone. ''Cognitive recalibration.'' She moved to sit on his bed and Katya took an instinctive step forwards, not happy she was already sitting so close to him right after waking up. ''I hit you really hard in the head.''

''Thanks.''

Natasha tried to give him an encouraging smirk, but it was only half convincing. Studying him for a second, she reached for his restrains and started freeing his arms. This caused Katya to take another step forward, ready to fight Clint if he tried anything.

''Tasha, how many agents did-'' His voice was painful and came out in a whisper. Katya immediately lowered her head, trying not to think of Coulson and studying the pattern on the floor.

''Don't.'' Natasha warned him. ''Don't do that to yourself, Clint. This is Loki. This is monsters and magic and nothing we were ever trained for.'' This conversation looked a lot like the one she just had with Katya, and the blonde could sense that her words were not only directed towards the man.

Clint noticed this and looked over at Katya, seeing her staring at the floor, clearly upset about something. ''Loki, he got away?'' The question was directed to the blonde woman, but Nat answered.

She furrowed her eyebrows. ''Yeah. I don't suppose you know where?''

''I didn't need to know. I didn't ask.'' Natasha got up, having freed Clint, giving him the opportunity to swing his legs over one side of the bed so he faced Katya. ''He's gonna make his play soon though.   
Today.'' Tasha turned around from where she watched the hallway through the window, alarmed by his words.

''We gotta stop him.'' Katya spoke up for the first time, still a bit wary of the mind controlled man.

Clint scoffed. ''Yeah? Who's we?''

''I don't know.'' Shaking her head, ''Whoever's left.''

''Well, if I put an arrow in Loki's eye socket, I'd sleep better I suppose.'' The smallest smile tugged at her lips, the first positive emotion she had showed since Coulson's death. 

Tasha walked back to him, sitting next to her friend on the bed. ''Now you sound like you.''

''But you two don't.'' He whipped his head between Natasha and Katya, who had taken the chair next to the bed. ''You're a spy, not a soldier. Now you want to wade into a war. Why? What did Loki do to you?'' He asked the question to the woman next to him first, giving Katya the time to prepare her answer.

''He didn't, I just-'' She cut herself off, staring down at her hands. This was very unlike Natasha, something was on her mind.

''Natasha.'' Clint whispered her name. Like Katya, Clint only spoke her full name when a serious conversation was going on, letting her know he wanted an honest answer. 

Finally looking back up, she stared him straight in the eye when answering. ''I've been compromised. I got red in my ledger. I'd like to wipe it out.''

It hurt Katya to see her like this, so vulnerable and in pain. But she guessed she was the same, torturing herself for her past. 

She didn't see how Clint nodded at his friend and then turned to her, because she had dropped her gaze back to the floor. ''Katya?''

Her leg bounced up and down, something she only did when really nervous. It was impossible to get away from this conversation. Protesting wasn't of any use, so taking a deep breath, her blue eyes found Clint's and she forced the words out. ''Loki killed Coulson.''

Clint froze and stared at her as if she was making a joke. The older SHIELD Agent had always been there. It was like he was unkillable and would live forever. This was completely shocking. 

''Wha- how?'' He finally managed to stutter.

Katya looked down at her fidgeting fingers. ''I didn't see it coming. One moment he was standing right in front of us and the other he was right behind Coulson and stabbing him with the Scepter.''

''He's dead?'' Clint turned to Natasha, who was watching Katya with sad eyes. When she nodded, he stood from the bed and paced back and forth in the small room. ''I can't believe it. And you were there?''

Katya nodded almost invisible, but Clint had seen it.

''How are you not dead?''

''Coulson blasted him with a Phase Two gun before he could.''

Clint nodded, murmuring words to himself. ''Always saving our lives, even when on the brink of death.'' Pulling himself together, he finally noticed how sad the two women in the room were. ''He wouldn't want us to sit here and wallow, so I'm going to clean up and we will go get some revenge.''

Natasha nodded, giving him a not convincing smile, more focused on the woman in front of her than her friend. Clint sensed the tension and walked to the small bathroom, closing the door to give them some privacy.

She waited until the tab ran before speaking up. ''I don't want to fight with you.''

Katya shook her head, not looking at the redhead in front of her. ''Neither do I, but I can't get the thought out of my head that he could've still been alive had I seen Loki's tricks coming.''

''Maybe.'' Katya looked up, surprised Natasha admitted to Katya's mistake. ''Maybe not.'' She jumped off the bed and crouched down in front of the blonde woman's chair, grabbing her hands to stop them from moving nervously. ''But it's no use dwelling in the past. Clint's right, Coulson wouldn't want you beating yourself up over this.''

Deep blue eyes finally found hers, considering her words carefully. Nat was right, Coulson wouldn't want her blaming herself for his death. He would want her to get Loki and finish the mission. 

Slowly, her leg stopped bouncing and her body relaxed. Natasha saw she had success once again and pushed some blonde hair behind Katya's ears that had escaped from the braid. 

''Sorry for snapping at you.'' Katya had learned quickly in their relationship that she always had to say what she was thinking immediately to Natasha. Apologize right after a fight when she knew she was wrong. Never go to bed angry, Clint had once told her. It was the best advice he had given her, because fights never lasted more than a few hours.

''That's okay, I get it.''

''You should yell at me more often when I'm being ridiculous.'' Katya smiled.

She nodded, a teasing shine in her eyes. ''Maybe that will get you to shut up.''

Katya narrowed her eyes, before grabbing Nat's collar and pulling her in for a kiss. Just a short, sweet, thankful kiss for understanding her and calming her down. 

Someone cleared their throat from behind Katya, getting her to let her girlfriend go, who stood up quickly. The blonde didn't even turn around, she already knew who it was. ''Captain.'' The smile audible in her voice.

Natasha saw him blink a couple times, this was clearly the first time he had seen two women kissing in front of him, before regaining his composure. ''Time to go.''

''Go where?'' Katya asked confused, turning around in her chair.

''I'll tell you on the way. Can you fly one of those jets?''

Barton stepped out of the restroom, drying his hands. He looked a lot better already. ''I can.''

Rogers looks at Natasha, wanting her to confirm he was on their side again. This must be very weird to him. He met his teammate while he was the enemy and got off on the wrong foot immediately. Katya just hoped they would be able to get along after this.

When Natasha nodded, he turned to Clint again. ''You got a suit?''

''Yeah.''

''Then suit up.'' With those words, he walked away, leaving the three Agents none the wiser.


	17. Battle Part One

Katya still had all her weapons on her from the mission before, so she just followed Natasha to her locker. She stole some extra magazines from her since she had emptied one on the brain washed SHIELD agents trying to make their way into the bridge before.

Both women carried the same guns, not the standard SHIELD assigned ones, but a special gun like the one they had always used and learned to shoot with. They were trained to use almost any kind of gun, but this was just the one they were both more comfortable with, so Fury ordered them in especially for them. 

Well, actually he ordered them in for Natasha and Katya just stole them from her. Even the label on the gun still said 'Romanoff'. Not that Katya minded that at all. 

''Get your own magazines.'' Natasha said when she saw Katya steal some from her locker. 

Katya smirked at her. ''Sorry, mine are on the other side of the ship.'' That was not true, they were only at the end of this hallway but it was still too far away. 

Nat rolled her eyes at her laziness. ''You're refilling them.''

''What do I get in return?'' Katya made a suggestive motion with her eyebrows, hoping the redhead would fall for it. But her tricks didn't work this time.

Natasha scoffed, a smile playing in her eyes. ''Nothing! You already have my bullets!''

''Good point.''

Katya braided her hair again, too many strands had fallen out of it before and it looked like a mess. Her experienced fingers could do the movements on her own while her eyes watched as Nat powered up her gloves with electricity. The taser gloves were really cool and helped a lot with hand-to-hand combat, something she knew Natasha preferred over shooting.

''You ready?'' 

Katya tied her braid off with an elastic and threw her hair back over her shoulder. ''I am.''

''Let's go.''

This was anything but an authorized mission. They were heading out on their own without anyone knowing, but nobody dared to stop them. Natasha and Katya were two terrifying people on their own. 

Add another assassin to that and a super soldier who looked like he could bench four hundred pounds or more and SHIELD agents everywhere got out of their way when the four walked to a Quinjet.

''Hey, you guys are not authorized to be here-'' How he conjured up the nerves to even say that to four soldiers clearly on a mission, Katya didn't know. She was prepared to knock him out stone cold anyway if he didn't step aside.

But that proved to be unnecessary when Steve spoke up immediately. ''Son, just don't.''

Clint took the pilot seat while Nat jumped in the chair next to him. Katya strapped in to a chair along the right wall of the plane, Steve sitting in front of her. It wasn't long before her hands had found a knife again, the movement calming her down.

She could see Stark shooting out in front of the jet. He was faster. A lot faster. SHIELD needed to get Stark to work for them. The technological advancements would only get better.

''So where are we going, Cap?'' Clint asked while he flew in the direction Stark had gone.

''New York City'', he answered loudly. Katya furrowed her brows. Why New York?

Then the sudden realization hit her. ''Stark Tower.'' It was almost the highest building in the city and the power that ran through the tower would be enough to start the cube.

Rogers looked at her, nodding silently. Stark would be pissed if Loki destroyed his building. Not that he didn't have money to fix it, it just sucked because it was just finished a few days ago.

It was a torturing fifteen minute flight to New York City. Katya's leg started bouncing somewhere through the flight too, not really nervous but more uneasy and frustrated because it took so long to get to the city. 

When a little gasp came from the front of the plane, probably from Clint, Katya stood up to see through the front window, leaning in between the two front seats. 

She couldn't believe her eyes. There was a massive blue beam shooting up to the sky from the roof of Stark Tower. This was definitely the cube. But that wasn't what was most worryingly. Dozens of aliens on carriages came down from a huge hole in the sky. On the other side of the portal was only blackness, ending somewhere deep in space. 

''What the hell?'' Katya breathed in shock. She had seen a lot in her lifetime, but this topped everything. 

Natasha stared at the events before shaking her head and speaking up for the first time since setting foot inside this ship. ''Stark, we're on your three headed north east.''

The man's voice came back immediately, although Katya couldn't hear what he said, because she didn't have a headset on. 

She watched with big eyes as they flew through the city, Clint taking a few hard left and right turns but she didn't think about getting back in her seat. She had never been to New York and under different circumstances, it would be beautiful. But not now. Smoke and explosions were everywhere. Civilians getting cornered by the aliens and everyone running around screaming. It was a whole mess.

Tasha shot at some aliens who were tailing Stark with a big gun the Quinjet had. It must feel good to kill these basterds, something Katya hoped she got to do very quickly too.

Clint steered the jet up just in time to avoid a building and headed for Stark Tower. Katya had to admit, the building was kind of cool. It looked modern, new and very advanced. She wouldn't mind living in that.

Her eyes fell on two gods fighting on the balcony. If that's what you could call the platform sticking out from the building at almost the top level. 

Thor was engaged in a fight with Loki, two brothers from another planet somewhere far away in the universe fighting on their little blue planet. Thor looked like he was losing though, being thrown into the glass barrier and then on the ground. This wasn't good. If even his own brother couldn't beat Loki, how the hell were they going to?

''Nat.'' Barton alerted Natasha of their fight, wanting her to get the gun out again.

''See ‘em.'' The jet locked on Loki and she fired at him again. However, Clint was too late to notice Loki raising his arm and shooting at the left engine of the jet, making it explode in a big burst of fire.

''Shit'', Clint cursed. ''Hold on people.'' He didn't have to say that again. He was an experienced pilot, so he could control-crash the plane, but a lot of buildings were in their way that made that difficult. 

Katya jumped back in her seat, quickly fastening her seatbelts. Rogers was too late though, the man hanging on to the roof of the plane to not be thrown around from side to side.

Clint narrowly avoided most of the buildings. The skyscrapers with the fancy outside glass walls not even getting a scratch on them. A small square was his landing -or crashing- place. Katya was thrown back and forth in her seat as the jet hit ground roughly, sliding forwards before coming to a stop against a building slowly. 

''Everyone okay?'' The man yelled backwards while everyone hastily threw off their seatbelts. 

''Just peachy.'' Katya hadn't had known the word before coming to America, but Clint said it all the time, so she had picked up the habit too. Natasha hated the word, making it only more fun for her to say it. 

She would have definitely gotten a glare from the redhead, were they not in a life-or-death situation at the moment.

They all ran out the jet after Rogers had opened the back door. He held his shield firmly in his hand. As if that thing alone would keep everyone safe from the aliens. Katya had to admit, his suit looked kind of ridiculous. She would never say that of course, but with all those colors, he looked like the Stars and Stripes themselves. 

She preferred the black skin-tight suit her and Nat were wearing over that thing any time. Maybe also because Natasha looked really hot in that thing, her red hair looking extra red against the black.

''We gotta get back up there.'' The Captain said loudly, running in the direction of the Tower again, Natasha on his heels. Katya was behind her, always watching the redhead's back in missions like these and Clint was behind the blonde woman, watching hers in return.

I think this displayed the dynamics within their group of three perfectly. Clint being the most selfless one and wanting to protect both his friends before himself. Katya wanting to protect Nat no matter what and her in turn trusting Clint to keep Katya safe. 

It was a whole new thing for everyone, but especially Katya. She had never had people to fully have her back to the point that they would die for her to keep her safe. It was terrifying but also the best thing that ever happened to her.

A big roar made everyone stop dead in their tracks. This wasn't from something small like a lion, no this was huge, massive. It was horrifying. Everyone looked up to the sky, having to put their head in their necks to even see the black hole.

Out came one of the biggest things Katya had ever seen in her life. It was an alien, that was for sure, but there was no way to describe its form. It had scales as large as entire houses, it snaked like a worm and had teeth as high as street lanterns. And on top of that, it could also fly. 

The thing came straight for them, knocking a statue of the building in front of them. Katya readied her gun, even though she knew it wouldn't do anything against the beast. She was hopelessly outgunned. 

At the last moment, the flying worm bowed up and flew right over their heads, everyone staring as it passed them. How the hell were they going to win this fight. There was no way there was only one of these and more aliens jumped out of the sides of the thing. 

There were only six of them, how will they beat hundreds of aliens.

Natasha had never seen Katya so afraid and hopeless. She looked incredibly vulnerable with just her gun against this entire army of aliens, her eyes big and dread filling them. She guessed she looked no different.

The blonde woman felt her staring at looked to her right. They didn't say anything, just the look in their eyes told them everything.

''Stark, are you seeing this?'' The Captain yelled in his earpiece over the noise of the city.

The metal voice of the man in the suit came back immediately. ''I'm seeing, still working on believing. Where's Banner? Has he shown up yet?''

Katya furrowed her eyebrows. ''Banner?''

''Just keep me posted.'' What did he know that they didn't.

The team on the ground watched as the Iron Man flew next to the enormous beast, probably trying to find a weak spot in his armor. 

When a blast from a flying alien almost hit Katya because she was too focused on Stark, Natasha dragged everyone behind some upside-down taxi's in the middle of the street for some cover. What were they going to do? What could they do that would help this situation in any way possible? 

''We got civilians trapped in-'' The voice in her ear was cut out because a big group of flying Chitauri flew right down the street they were in, shooting at any and everything on the ground. Moving and not moving. 

People were running around, trying to find some sort of shelter. ''They're fish in a barrel down there.'' The Captain said while looking back over the edge of the taxi to the street down below. The four Avengers had found themselves on an overpass. Not really safe with all these explosions, but moving was even more dangerous.

Rogers duck just in time to avoid a Chitauri shot and the other three were quick to retaliate, firing guns and arrows in the direction of the aliens. ''We got this. It's good. Go!'' Natasha said to the soldier who was reluctant to leave his teammates behind to fight all these aliens off.

''You think you can hold them off?'' He yelled at Clint who had taken shelter behind another taxi a few feet away. Katya scoffed at his distrust in their skills. Between these three assassins and the super soldier, the three would win a fight against him any given day on skills alone.

''Captain,'' He started, pushing a button on his bow that made the mechanism in his quiver pick up an explosive arrow, ''It would be my genuine pleasure.''

Releasing the arrow, he took down five aliens at once, causing the Captain to satisfied with his skills, the man jumping over the edge of the overpass to the street down below.

The two women empty their clips into every alien they see, constantly needing to reload the guns. 

Between the shooting, Katya scanned her surroundings intently, looking for people who needed their help against these creatures. Her eye fell on a bus not too far away, the screams of children audible over the shooting and explosions. ''дерьмо,'' Katya cursed quietly, ''There's children trapped in the bus.''

Clint looked back at his two friends. ''I'll go, cover me.'' Not even waiting for confirmation, he ran towards the bus, killing any aliens in his path.

Katya groaned at his heroics but it was too late to stop him. So she watched his back and made sure nobody hurt the children he helped out through the window of the vehicle. Seeing that just opening the doors was a lot quicker, he moved to open them, the people coming out a lot quicker now.

''Just like Budapest all over again!'' Nat yelled to him when he joined the two Russians again who were still shooting their guns non-stop. Oh, no. Budapest was something they did not talk about. Ever. 

That battle was a death trap they had miraculously made their way out off without dying. Nat had had a gunshot wound, another one for her collection. Clint a concussion because of an explosion very close to his head. Katya had a knife lodged in her thigh that hurt like a bitch. But it could have been so much worse.

''Don't talk about Budapest!'' Katya said to the woman next to her, who gave her a little smile in return.

Clint agreed with the blonde. ''You and I remember Budapest very differently.'' 

Katya shot her guns until they made an empty clicking sound, checking her belt, she saw she was out of bullets. Grabbing her knives, she turned around and started killing the things by fighting them hand-to-hand. 

It wasn't much different than fighting humans. They were just a little bit taller and a lot slimier, but they hurt the same way and were also killable. She discovered that after the first one, when she went for the place a human heart would sit. The skin was thick and hard to pierce, taking a lot more effort than piercing a human's skin, but it worked, that was positive. 

When Natasha's gunshots stopped too, and she turned to fight herself, Katya yelled her findings to her. ''Go for the heart. Thick skin, stab hard.''

It was so tiring and soon, Katya's arms had trouble raising up and stabbing hard enough to kill the aliens. Natasha had better ideas, she just jumped on top of the creatures and tasered them with her   
gloves. ''I need to get me those too'', she murmured to herself while twisting a Chitauri's neck until it broke. 

She kicked, stabbed and fought alien after alien. With every one she killed, two more seemed to take its place. It was an endless stream and every kill she did just felt useless. It was like mopping with the tab running.

''Katya!'' A voice broke through her thoughts. She finished off the one she was fighting and then turned around to Nat, who had called out her name. A long, stick-like alien weapon was thrown at her, she was just in time to catch it. She was confused for a second until she saw the redhead had secured one for herself and was using it to shoot the aliens. Killing the enemy with their own weapons. Smart move.

''Thanks!'' She yelled back while trying to figure the weapon out. It was quite easy. Apparently, war is an universal language.

But even these didn't help with the overwhelming swarm of aliens that suddenly surrounded the three spies. This didn't look good. They had trouble dodging the shots now coming from all around them. One even scraped Katya's right upper arm, leaving a deep, nasty burn in its place. She hissed and killed the alien with a little more force than necessary. 

The Captain suddenly dropped next to her, causing her to almost shoot him with her gun. He bashed three aliens' heads in at once and moved to the others surrounding them, helping to thin the herd.

But the biggest relief came when lighting caused dozens of Chitauri around them to drop dead at once. It wasn't hard to guess who that was.


	18. Battle Part Two

Captain stepped to the blond god immediately, who had a little trouble getting up from his landing. The fight with his brother must have hurt him more than they thought possible.

''What's the story upstairs?'' The man in blue asked.

''The power surrounding the cube is impenetrable.'' Great, so they couldn't close the portal. How were they going to stop this attack if they couldn't close the one thing supplying the threat.

Tony's voice came through their ears, speaking up for the first time in a long time. Katya had honestly completely forgotten about the Iron Man and by the looks on the faces of the others, they had too. 

''Thor is right. We gotta deal with these guys.''

''How do we do this?'' Nat asked from beside Katya, her question directed at the Captain, who was practically in charge right now.

''As a team.'' He answered back. Really? That is his idea. No further explanation? They needed a plan. Without a plan, the three assassins were uncomfortable, not knowing their job in all this. Katya rolled her eyes at his sentiment, something she really wasn't in the mood for right now. She was tired, in pain and sweaty and just wanted this all to be over so she could take a shower and sleep.

Thor almost cut Rogers off, letting him know what he wanted to do. ''I have unfinished business with Loki.''

''Yeah? Get in line.'' Katya smiled at Clint's dry humor, the kind of humor she had herself, before realizing she had problems with the god herself. 

''Starts behind me.'' She said. Nobody needed an explanation for her words. She wanted revenge for Coulson.

''Save it.'' The Captain cut their bantering off, walking past his teammates while talking. ''Loki's gonna keep this fight focused on us and that's what we need. Without him these things could run wild. We got Stark up top, he's gonna need us-''

Katya didn't hear his last sentence, the sound of a motorcycle coming closer grabbing her attention. It was weird that somebody would drive into the city and not out of it. A little smile came on her face when the scientist came into view, driving a small motorcycle. 

The clothes he was wearing were definitely not his. Way to big. But that didn't matter. They needed the Hulk now, not Doctor Banner.

Rogers walked over to the man, greeting him with a little nod, while the rest of the team followed. Katya still held the alien weapon tight to her chest, it was the only thing making her feel a little secure right now, not having her own guns.

The doctor got off and gestured around. ''So, this all seems horrible.''

''I've seen worse.'' Nat said from in front of Katya. She could only imagine what she had gone through with the Hulk in the Helicarrier. Katya made a mental note to talk to her about it, because she had sounded seriously shaken up through the comms during the fight.

Natasha wouldn't want to talk about it, but it would be better for her if she did, getting it off her chest.

''Sorry'', the man honestly apologized to the woman, knowing he never meant to hurt her but couldn't help himself when he was the Hulk.

''No'', the woman didn't want to hear his apology. ''We could use a little worse.'' The man looked at her like he was really surprised at her answer, like he expected her to run far away from him

''Stark?'' Rogers spoke to the flying man. ''We got him.''

''Banner?''

''Just like you said.'' Katya could imagine the man smirking in his metal suit, his ego being a little more fueled by being right.

''Then tell him to suit up. I'm bringing the party to you.'' Oh oh. That did not sound good.

Stark rounded a building and flew straight at them, the large alien flying creature following him. Thanks, Stark.

Everyone around her freezes, staring at the monster as it came closer. Would the Hulk be able to stop this thing?

''I - I don't see how that's a party'' Natasha stuttered, a little fear shining through in her voice.

''Stark, I'm going to kill you.'' Katya muttered in her earpiece, hoping the man would be seriously scared of her.

And it looked like he was, a scared whisper coming back. ''Oh, boy.''

Banner turned around and started walking in the direction of the beast, clearly thinking he could handle the beast. ''Dr. Banner!'' Rogers called after him, causing the doctor to turn his head around. Katya thought he was going to warn him or ask if he could handle it, but the Captain had more faith in a green monster than the three assassins before. ''Now might be a really good time for you to get angry.''

''That's my secret, Cap. I'm always angry.'' Katya's eyes widened as his skin turned from pink to green really fast and he grew two times in size. This all within a matter of seconds and in the midst of a turn. Quite impressive.

The Hulk roared while punching the beast in his nose, trying to get it to stop. The force of she speed caused the green guy to slide backwards, but came to a stop only a few feet in front of Rogers. 

Just when she thought this was it, the alien toppled over, its tail tumbling over its head. It was going to fall on its back right on top of the Avengers below. 

''Hold on!'' Stark yelled while readying a missile to hit the sensitive spots in the creatures armor, now revealed.

Before she could react, the Captain pulled Katya under his shield together with Nat. How he could fit three people under this giant frisbee, she had no idea, but no rubble hit her and that was what mattered. She was already bruised enough.

Everyone came together when the beast had completely exploded. Natasha loaded her gun with a magazine she had stolen from Clint while Katya just held on to the alien weapon. It didn't seem to run out of shots, probably running on some sort of electricity like the cube. 

Clint nocked another arrow, ready to fire. Stark powered up the suit completely, everybody ready for the next round. 

Staring up at the hole in the sky, two more of those giant creatures Stark just killed flied through along with dozens more smaller aliens. This was going to be a long day.

''Guys.'' Natasha alerted every one of the bad news.

''Call it, Captain.'' Katya was surprised. Stark giving away control?

''Alright, listen up. Until we can close that portal up there, we're gonna use containment.'' Sounds logical, Katya could work with that. Rogers turned to his team, pointing at a nearby building. ''Barton, I want you on that roof, eyes on everything. Call out patterns and strays. Stark, you got the perimeter. Anything gets more than three blocks out, you turn it back or your turn it to ash.''

Stark nodded, understanding his job. 

''Will you give me a lift?'' Clint asked the Iron Man, both ready to do their jobs. 

Stark walked to the archer. ''Right. Better clench up, Legolas.'' Katya laughed at the nickname. She would have to remember that.

The remaining five watched as they flew off, into the sky. It felt weird to separate with Clint, they always worked together in a mission, but Captain's orders. ''Thor,'' he grabbed the god's attention next. 

''You've gotta try and bottleneck that portal. Slow them down. You've got the lightning. Light the bastards up.''

Swinging his hammer, which caused Katya's loose strands of blonde hair to be blown into her face, he took to the sky too. Man it almost felt like everyone could fly in this team.

Now is was Katya and Natasha's turn for orders. ''You two and me, we stay here on the ground, keep the fighting here.'' She nodded once, readying the gun in her hands. ''And Hulk.'' Captain turned to the beast. ''Smash.''

The next ten minutes was a complete blur. Katya was just stabbing and shooting and fighting on automatic pilot. She didn't think about anything else but killing. 

Her right arm was throbbing because of the burn on her upper arm. Her head was throbbing because of the lack of hydration. Her lungs were burning because of the smoke in the air and the shortage of oxygen. Her feet hurt from standing on them so long. She was just exhausted and that wasn't good for her fighting.

More and more aliens got a hit in on her before she could kill them. Her left cheek was definitely already completely blue and her eyebrow was split, blood dripping down her face.

What broke her out of this mindset was the loud thud right next to her. At first she thought it was another alien jumping down from the sky, but it was Natasha who was pushed against the hood of a taxi roughly by an alien.

Katya could see she was tired too, blood coming down from her forehead and her lip was split. She struggled with the weight of the alien and the proximity, unable to use the alien gun. So Katya took it upon herself to get the thing off the redhead. Carefully aiming, she burned a hole right through the creatures back, making him slump down on the ground.

Natasha stiffened for a second, surprised by the sudden lack of weight, before realizing who shot it. Grabbing Katya's outstretched hand to pull herself up, her head nodded once in a 'thank you'.

''You good?'' The blonde asked, scanning her body to find any hidden injuries Natasha did her best at hiding.

Tasha smiled slightly, amused at the concern the other woman showed. ''Peachy.''

Katya's wide eyes jumped up at the word, staring at her green ones. ''Did you just- how can you joke right now?''

Natasha just laughed in return, an out-of-breath, half-exhausted laugh, causing Katya to shake her head in disbelief. 

Both spies turned around instantly when another presence joined their space, both holding up their guns, ready to shoot. The Captain held up his shield as a reflection, not wanting to get shot with those things. 

Katya and Nat dropped their weapons when they saw it was just their teammate, Natasha dropping down to sit on the hood of the car, heavily panting and out of breath.

The blonde Agent put her hand on her shoulder as a little support, hoping it would get her to calm down a little and be ready for the next round.

''Captain, none of this is gonna mean a damn thing if we don't close that portal.'' The redhead gestured with her head to the hole in the sky.

''Our biggest guns couldn't touch it.'' Katya saw he felt helpless too, not being able to close the source of the supply of aliens.

''Well, maybe it's not about guns.'' Natasha breathed, staring at the blue beam shooting up from the top of Stark Tower. 

Katya's eyes widened, knowing what she was planning on doing. Something reckless again, like always. ''No.''

The Captain didn't listen to Katya's protests. ''You wanna get up there, you're gonna need a ride.''

''Don't encourage this.'' Both of her teammates ignored her completely, forming a plan in their minds.

Natasha dropped her rifle and got up from the taxi, walking to the middle of the street. ''I got a ride. I could use a boost though.'' Rogers stepped back, understanding what she was planning on doing.

Katya knew it was too late to get her to change her mind, so she just yelled something to her instead. ''Be careful!''

The redhead gave her one of her gorgeous half-smiles. ''I'll see you after we end this!'' Then she turned to the Captain, who angles his shield a little bit to give her a good place to put her feet.

''Are you sure about this?''

Nat balanced on the balls of her feet, ready to run and jump. ''Yeah. It's gonna be fun.'' It sounded like she was convincing herself more than him, which caused Katya to hold her breath when she started running.

Jumping on the hood of a car and then on the shield, Cap lifted her in the air, allowing for Natasha to grab onto the bottom of a flying carriage.

They both watched as she pulled herself up and killed the first alien, before moving onto the second one, but she disappeared out of view before they could see what happened next.

Rogers had an impressed look on his face when Katya turned to face him. ''I swear, she is gonna be the death of me one day.''

He wanted to reply, but they had been standing here for too long, causing more Chitauri to come and find them. The man could dodge a shot just in time, Katya dropping behind the taxi she was still standing in front of.

It took all her willpower to stand up again and fight. The conversation from before had given her some time to breathe, but it didn't last long. She and Cap were fighting hard to try and kill as many of these things as they could while at the same time making sure to not get hit in return. 

Stark joined them very soon also, blasting a lot of the aliens off the overpass or into dust, relieving them a little. ''Thanks, Stark.'' Katya said to him as he flew off, giving her and Cap a little time to recover before another wave could hit.

''Does that mean you won't kill me anymore?''

''No. You're still dead.''

Clint was the one to interrupt their little banter, alerting Steve of a situation he could see from the rooftop. ''Captain, the bank on 42nd past Madison, they cornered a lot of civilians in there.''

Cap stopped to listen, before turning to Katya, who gave a nod to his silent question. ''Katya and I are on it.''


	19. Battle Part Three

They sprinted down to the bank. Katya had no idea where 42nd and Madison was, but the Captain did, running far in front because he was a lot faster than her.

And probably also a lot less tired. Let's just keep it at that.

''You take the ground floor, I'll take first.'' And he knew the lay-out of the bank. Did he also get a computer implanted in his head when getting the serum in the forties?

He didn't wait for her answer, just jumped through the already broken window on the first floor like it wasn't ten foot up from the ground. ''Damn'', she muttered before taking out her knives and sneaking through the front doors of the building.

If she could sneak up on the aliens, she could already take out a few before they started fighting back. The alien gun she left behind, not wanting to scare the civilians into thinking she was one of them. 

It was just her luck that three aliens stood with their backs to her, rifles pointed at the crowd in a threatening way. They should really put somebody to watch the door, because Katya already had one knife in the first Chitauri's back before the other two could comprehend what was going on. 

Half of the people watched her as she took down the second and third, while the other half of the crowd stared at the first floor above, seeing Captain America in the flesh. She normally didn't like an audience, people were always in the way, but she didn't mind now, finally being able to show them she was here to protect them.

Loud gasps made her turn around just in time to see Steve throw a Chitauri down into the crowd. Good job, Rogers, you could have crushed a couple civilians with that move.

''Clear out!'' She heard his voice shout from above. But the people were frozen, too shocked at what was happening. Katya had to pull on their arms to get them to move. When the first one left, the rest followed on their own. It got even better after a loud explosion came from above, with people now yelling and pushing to get out of the building. 

Luckily, the National Guard had finally showed up, so she wasn't alone in guiding the civilians to a safe place, out of the building and into the subway. 

Her ears ringed from the blast and it was difficult to hear anything. All sounds being muffled. But her sight was fine and that's also how she found Steve, standing in front of the bank pulling himself together after he had fallen out of the window.

She walked to him. Too quietly apparently, because he jumped when her hand landed on his shoulder. ''You okay?''

He nodded before giving her a tiny smile, a hint of a tease in his eyes. ''You know, under all that hard exterior, you're a very kind person.''

Her eyes widened in fake shock. ''O gosh, don't tell anyone that.''

They both laughed, a welcome change from the serious situation they were in at the moment. But his face turned serious again really quickly, reminded of the still ongoing fight. ''You ready to kill more of those things?''

Katya sighed deeply, not really having a choice, she nodded. ''I hope Nat closes the portal quickly.''

As if on cue, she spoke through their ears. ''Hawkeye!'' Her voice was very panicky, not something that made Katya feel at ease. Not at all. She had trouble to keep following Rogers to a new fight and not turn around and search the sky for her.

'Clint probably noticed her cruising on an alien chariot, because his voice was very shocked and confused. ''Nat, what are you doing?''

''She's being reckless again.'' Katya replied. Clint needed no explanation as to what she meant by that. 

''Uh- a little help!'' Natasha's voice came again.

''I got him.'' The man was confident and controlled and if Clint said he had a shot, he had a shot. The archer never missed. Never.

It made it a little bit easier for Katya to focus on her own problems and not the ones in the sky. 

She didn't hear anything after that, so she hoped it was all good. 

Rogers had found another epicenter of aliens he took them to. Katya almost turned around and ran away at the sight, but she wasn't a quitter, she never quit. Not even in this situation with the weirdest things she had ever seen. Not even now when there was no way they were going to win if Nat didn't manage to close the portal. Not even if she was exhausted and in pain and out of breath. 

She would always keep fighting until she passed out or died, the first sounding very appealing actually right now. But it wasn't an option. 

So she fought next to Rogers and eventually also Thor, who hit the aliens away with his hammer like they weighed nothing. 

It was all going quite well despite the circumstances, until Rogers was hit in his stomach with one blast, falling flat on the ground. Thor killed the basterds quickly, before extending his hand towards the man on the ground. 

Katya would have done that, weren't she engaged in a fight herself.

''You ready for another bout?'' Thor asked as he stabilized the soldier.

''What? You gettin' sleepy?'' How was everyone able to make jokes right now, Katya didn't understand. 

The alien in front of her just didn't want to die. She kept stabbing him with her knives, but he wouldn't go down. It was very frustrating, also because none of the guys came to help her out. Just when she thought she had him, Nat's voice distracted her from protecting herself. ''I can close it! Can anybody hear me? I can shut the portal down!''

Katya grunted as the Chitauri saw her focus falter and knock her to the ground harshly, her head hitting the ground hard. She could feel the blood staining her blonde hair, the skin at the back of her head bleeding. 

Thor turned around to the woman, finally noticing in what situation she was, Rogers being too busy answering Tasha. ''Do it!''

''No, wait!'' She could just hear Stark's protest before her own silent groans and whimpers cut him off. The Chitauri had been smart to fabricate a sharp point to the end of their rifles, so they could also be used as spears. That was exactly what the one towering over her managed to do before Thor hit him with his hammer.

The god had interfered just in time to stop the alien from finding her heart, but the spear still managed to pierce her shoulder. It missed the bones but didn't miss the blood vessels. It wasn't her good arm, but that didn't mean it sucked less. This would take weeks to heal and Katya hated being restricted by her body.

'I got a nuke coming in, it's gonna blow in less than a minute. And I know just where to put it.''

That single sentence managed to get her to focus on the battle again and not on the pain in her shoulder.

Thor carefully picked up the woman on the ground, but she was too dizzy to even sit up. Nausea filling her stomach and the world spinning before her eyes. She was afraid that if she spoke, she would throw up. So she just nodded the tiniest bit when the god asked her if she was okay.

''Stark, you know that's a one-way trip?'' She heard Steve say, even though she didn't see him because she had closed her eyes to prevent everything from spinning, she could hear the dread in his voice. He had only known the man for such a short amount of time and he had completely misjudged him before. 

He was the one to make the sacrifice play. To die to save millions.

Katya could hear the missile coming closer and she suspected with that, Stark. So she dared open her eyes and see how he flew right over them, carrying the missile on his back.

Her heart stopped for a second when he came really close to the Tower, where Natasha was still standing on top off, but he turned the missile up just in time, vertically flying up to the portal.

Katya felt such respect for the man that it almost overwhelmed he. Tears threatened to spill from the corners of her eyes, but she knew he didn't want them to cry over him.

A torturing ten seconds passed, which felt like two hours, between him disappearing through the portal and the aliens around Katya dropping dead. 

Steve and Thor watched in confusion and relief as every single alien surrounding them went limp, dying immediately. Even the big flying worms fell out of the sky, crushing a couple buildings. She didn't even want to know how many billions had to be spent to fix this city. It would take years until it even looked a little like it did two days ago.

Everyone stared up at the portal, waiting for Stark to come back out so it could be closed. But the billionaire didn't come back out. Instead, a bright light that could only belong to a nuclear explosion threatened to pass into this world. 

They were out of time. Stark was out of time. 

''Close it.'' Rogers ordered Nat, who was waiting to close the portal.

She didn't waste a single second, the blue beam almost immediately cutting out. A loud rumble came from the sky as it closed, almost like it celebrated. 

Katya had never felt so conflicted in her life. They had almost won, but at what cost? She was happy the portal was finally closed and this fight was now almost over, but sad at losing a teammate who Natasha really liked. And that was quite an achievement of the man.

Despite the world still spinning a little, her blue eyes focused on the closing black hole, hoping Stark would somehow find a way out. At the very, very last second, a tiny red metal man was spit out by the sky. Like it didn't want him dead yet. Like he had another destiny to fulfill.

''Son of a gun.'' Steve muttered to himself.

A big smile formed on Katya's face despite the pain she was in. Now they could properly celebrate. 

Or so she thought. Tony didn't seem to stop falling. He picked up speed as gravity pulled at his body harder and harder. He would fall to his death if someone didn't pick him up.

Thor noticed too, the god swinging his hammer around to fly up and meet the billionaire halfway. ''He's not slowing down.''

But his actions were unnecessary when the Hulk roared and grabbed the man as if he was a doll, sliding down the building and dropping him at Steve's feet. 

Katya turned her head, which came with more dizziness, and saw how Thor ripped the Iron Man mask off and Steve listened to his breathing. 

Stark didn't move, not even a single muscle in his entire face moved. Katya's heart dropped to the ground, tears filling her eyes once again. It couldn't be like this. They had saved the city, saved millions from dying because of a nuclear bomb and they lost one teammate in return? It wasn't fair. It shouldn't be him. 

Everyone around the man dropped their head in respect, a sad feeling replacing the celebratory one from a minute before. 

Katya was so lost in her thoughts that her entire body jolted when the Hulk roared loudly. Not only her body reacted to the noise, Stark's did too.

The man opened his eyes immediately, shock filling his face. ''What the hell?'' He looked at the faces around him confused. ''What just happened? Please tell me nobody kissed me.''

Katya wanted to say a sarcastic remark but she didn't dare open her mouth, the nausea had settled down, but she was still very dizzy.

Steve smiled at Tony, happy his teammate was back. ''We won.''

''Alright. Hey. Alright. Good job, guys. Let's just not come in tomorrow. Let's just take a day. Have you ever tried shawarma? There's a shawarma joint about two blocks from here. I don't know what it is, but I wanna try it.'' Tony rambled, not knowing what to say in this situation.

To be honest, Katya didn't know either. How the hell were they going to process everything that happened here today. 

Clint, Nat and Katya had seen some shit in their life and probably wouldn't have much trouble processing this. Thor came from space so she guessed he was in the clear too. But Steve? In the forties, the weirdest thing on Earth was him. 

Tony? The man was emotionally very fragile, even if he hid it well. He would probably have the most problems dealing with this. Also because of the almost-death and whatever he had seen up there.

Thor looked up at Stark Tower, suddenly reminded of his brother still being there. ''We're not finished yet.'' Right. Loki. Katya had forgotten about him.

But Tony didn't let that spoil the fun. ''And then shawarma after.''


	20. Aftermath

''Katya. You still alive?'' Nat joked over the comms. She hadn't heard from the blonde woman in a long time, making her a little worried.

Katya removed her right hand from where she put pressure on the wound to try and stop the bleeding and moved her bloody hand to her ear. ''I'm all good, my shoulder might need some stitches though. And the world is spinning a lot faster than it should.''

Natasha sighed, although a little worry filled her voice. ''You can never come out of a fight unharmed, can you?''

''I love having you fix me up.''

Stark made a disgusted noise from where he was trying to stand up. He was a little wobbly but he managed. ''Get a room!''

''I see Stark is fine.''

''Define 'fine''', Katya answered while staring up at the man who walked closer to her, a smirk on her face. 

He narrowed his eyes at her. ''Watch out Petrova or you'll get to pay for your own shawarma after.'' Stark threatened her. 

''I might need to anyway.'' Her head gestured to the Stark Tower, which only held the letter 'A' now. ''That building looks like it will need a lot of restauration.''

He looked up at his Tower, truly seeing the destruction himself for the first time. ''Yeah, I guess it does.'' He bowed down to pick the blonde woman up and fly her to where Loki was on the top floor of his building, but her glare stopped him. ''Right. Touch again and I'll lose my hand. I'm quite attached to that hand so I'll just go, bye.'' 

He didn't know how fast he needed to get away from her. Even bloody and wounded, Katya was still terrifying to him. 

She laughed when he took off to the sky and Steve and Thor just stared at her weirdly. These guys had no sense of humor. Not her sense of humor anyway.

''I could use a little help here.'' She said when nobody moved to help her up. Not that she needed the help, it was just nice she didn't fall on her head again when her body proved to not be ready to stand up.

Steve jumped up and grabbed her right shoulder gently, not wanting to hurt her. She tried slowly sitting up first. When that proved to be okay - no throwing up, nausea or more dizziness - he pulled her up on her feet calmly. 

Gravity immediately pulled on her entire body, causing it to beg her to lay down again. It needed rest, it didn't want to walk all the way to the building. Steve offered to carry her, but Natasha would never let that go and she didn't want to feel so weak and humiliated, so she declined.

He still wrapped his hand around her waist and put her good arm around his neck. She really didn't like him touching her. Especially her waist, somewhere only Natasha was allowed to touch her. But she tolerated it because one, she needed the support to not fall over and two, he was just being nice.

It took ages to reach the building that was only a little more than six-hundred feet away, but Steve didn't complain once, although Katya could sense he was restless.

Finally they arrived at the front door of the building. Or better, what used to be the front door of the building. The glass was broken, making it able for Steve and Katya to step through the shards inside. 

Steve pressed the button for the elevator, which, luckily enough, was still working, and dragged the woman in before pressing the button leading to the top floor of the tower.

Goosebumps had formed on Katya's skin and she was almost shivering with how cold she was. This was not a good sign. Between her head and her shoulder, she had lost a lot of blood and would probably need a blood transfusion to fix this. She hated needles.

Sweat dripped down her forehead, also a symptom of severe blood loss. Natasha is going to kill her for even coming up here and not going straight to the hospital right now. 

The heavy elevator doors opened and revealed a very torn up floor of Stark Tower. Glass lay everywhere and the wind made a lot of noise because huge glass windows were missing from the wall. Everyone was there. Thor, Stark, Clint, even the Hulk had found his way up here. But the first person she would always look for was already on her way over to her, pressing the Scepter in Stark's hands when passing him.

Steve passed her over to Nat immediately, probably happy he didn't have to drag her around anymore. Natasha was not happy with how she looked. Skin pale, a shiver going through her body every few seconds and sweat on her forehead. ''Иисус Христос, Katya, you look like you should have been dead already'', she scolded the woman. 

A very weak smile managed to form on the woman's lips in response. ''Yeah, I think I need to sit.'' She dropped on the steps in the room. Her right hand was still clutching her left shoulder, trying to stop the bleeding. Natasha pushed that hand away and pressed both her hands hard against the shoulder, as if trying to force the blood back in. A groan came from the blonde as she did so, pain shooting down her arm.

''Why did you come up here. You should have gone to the hospital.'' The deep crease between her brows told Katya she wasn't angry, just concerned about her health.

She sent her a smile that hopefully would put her at ease. ''I'm fine, Nat. It's not that bad.''

But it didn't have the effect she wanted. ''It's not- are you looking at it?''

Katya dropped her eyes from Nat's face to her hands. They were already covered in blood, the deep red sticking to her skin. ''On second thought.'' Nat just shook her head. She was not the only reckless one in the team. 

''Let's get you fixed up.'' How she made it down the elevator and into a SHIELD medical car, she had no idea. It was hard to focus with your heart beating in your ears and the world spinning more and more. What she did comprehend was Natasha's hands leaving her shoulder and being replaced by someone else's cold ones. In her state, she panicked a little when the redhead didn't follow her into the car, but now she understood that she had more important business in the Tower to take care off.

''I'll come find you after.'' She said gently when panic had shown up on Katya's face. Medics forced the woman down on a stretcher and pushed her into the wagon. A needle was stuck her her arm, dark blood flooding down from the bag above to the veins in her body. It was too late to prevent her from passing out though, her body couldn't hold on anymore.

Exhaustion and pain combined with the lack of blood in her body caused her vision to go black, surrendering her body to the people around her. 

~~~~~~~~

A very annoying beeping sound that made her want to throw the machine into a wall, woke her up. Oh, no, she was in a hospital. If she hated one thing, it was hospitals. 

Katya hated feeling so vulnerable and weak, displayed on a bed like she was the main attraction. 

Groaning when opening her eyes, the only color in the room immediately grabbed her attention. A smiling but also worried redhead sat on the edge of the bed by her feet, already having noticed her waking up. ''Welcome back.'' She joked.

Katya had no idea how long she had been out of it. If could have been weeks but also hours, because her body still felt like shit. ''Ugh, how long was I out?'' Her voice was raspy from the lack of hydration.

Natasha immediately jumped off the bed and grabbed some water for her, which she gratefully took. ''The whole night.'' A little worry shone through in her voice, although it wasn't necessary at all. 

Besides the pain in her shoulder and the exhaustion, she felt fine. A little headache and a dry throat from the dehydration but that was all.

''Did we get him?'' Katya didn't need to say who she meant, understanding filling the other woman's eyes. 

She nodded slightly. ''Yeah, but the people are not happy.'' Only then did Katya notice the TV on the ceiling that was playing the news without sound. Natasha was probably watching it when waiting for her to wake up. 

The city was completely destroyed. Entire buildings needed to be build up from the ground again, the damage unfixable. Streets lay open and huge holes covered the black asphalt. Glass lay everywhere, taxi's turned upside down, street lanterns falling down, it was a huge mess that would cost billions to fix. 

Ripping her eyes away from the screen, they focused on Natasha again, who had a pained expression on her face. Katya knew she somehow blamed herself for this, even though they weren't the ones causing all this damage. 

Sitting up further, Katya put the glass on the bedside table and then grabbed Nat's hand with the same one. ''They're just looking for someone to blame and with Loki and the aliens gone, only we are left. People are scared, they just found out about aliens. They will do whatever they need to make themselves feel better and if that is blaming us, then so be it.''

Natasha gave her hand a thankful squeeze while raising her eyebrow in a playful way, also adding that iconic smirk. ''When did you get so wise?''

Katya narrowed her eyes. ''You underestimate me, Romanoff. I know more than you think.'' The eye contact turned into a little staring contest with both woman just enjoying the quiet of the room and the fact that they were both still alive after this fight. Katya cleared her throat when she was clearly getting lost in Nat's green eyes, something that earned her a victorious smile she ignored. ''But, ehm, what is the diagnoses, doctor?'' She gestured to her shoulder which was heavily bandaged up. 

Natasha sighed while listing her injuries. ''Third degree burn on your right upper arm, which is why it doesn't hurt, bruises everywhere including the one on your face-'' 

''My face?'' Katya cut her off with a little frown. She couldn't remember getting hit in the face during the fight. 

''You sure you want to see it?'' The smirk on her face told her she thought it looked very funny. Probably half her face was blue.

''Nope, continue.'' The blonde quickly said upon seeing the redhead's expression.

''You were quite lucky with your shoulder. It missed the bone and all the major arteries.'' Her face turned a lot more serious now, shoulders dropping a bit at having to deliver the bad news. 

''But?''

''But it pierced a lot of the small ones and the muscles. It will take weeks before you can use that shoulder again. It may never fully heal at all.''

Katya dropped her head, looking at the hand that was still holding Natasha's. Only now the other woman was comforting her more than the other way around. A messed up shoulder wasn't something she could use in her line of work. It would hinder her from being able to punch hard with her left arm and it was a huge disadvantage in a fight.

''That's it?''

Natasha laughed softly. ''What, you wanted more?''

Katya's blue eyes found hers, suddenly realizing how selfish she was being right now, wallowing in her own despair and not even knowing if her girlfriend was okay. ''What about you?''

''I'm fine.'' She tried to brush her concern off, but Katya's narrowed eyes told her she didn't accept that. Rolling her eyes, she answered honestly. ''Head wound, bruised ribs, some nice purple bruises everywhere else and a split lip.''

''No kisses for you the next few days then.'' Katya teased her, looking at the cut in her lower lip. 

''Lucky for me, my lips are not the only place you can kiss me.'' The blonde almost choked on the air, the suggestion heating up her cheeks. She was usually the one with the sexual comments, although Natasha found herself following her down that road. 

She didn't give in however, teasing her right back to get the same reaction out of her. ''Guess I'll have to find out how far those purple bruises go.''

''Might be difficult with that shoulder.''

''Good thing I have two hands then.''

They had slowly leaned in more and more, neither wanting to give in first. But someone rudely interrupted their little moment, both women throwing a glare at their friend who walked in like nothing was wrong. Plopping down on Katya's other side, completely ignoring her grunt as pain shot up her shoulder, Clint smiled like they weren't throwing him death-glances. ''Oof the sexual tension in here.''

Natasha looked ready to lunge at him while Katya laughed at her reaction. ''What do you want, Barton?'' She growled.

''Here to pick you both up. Thor's leaving with Loki in an hour and Katya is clearly not ready to go.''

''They're leaving today?'' Her blue eyes flashed from the man to the woman on both sides of the bed. She hadn't expected for SHIELD to just let the two gods go this easily. They clearly trusted Asgard's justice system to punish Loki.

Clint nodded, suddenly very serious. ''People are restless, he needs to go before unrest breaks out.''

She nodded, throwing the covers off her body with one big motion of her arm. The doctors had cut the top part of her uniform off to get to her injuries on both arms, but had left the bottom part on, not having a reason to cut those off as well. So she was just left in her sports-bra and some pants, nothing Clint hadn't seen before.

''Woah, what are you doing?'' Natasha said worried, not wanting the woman to get out of bed already. 

''I'm coming with. Still got a god to punch.'' She hadn't gotten the chance to talk to Loki in person and punch him for killing their friend and colleague. 

The redhead stood up and blocked her way out of the bed. ''No.''

''Nat.'' Katya sighed.

''No.''

''Nat.''

''Fine. But if I see you so much as wobble, you go straight back here.''

''Yes, darling.'' Tasha threw her a nasty look before stepping back, actually holding out her hand so Katya could pull herself up. Her right arm was totally fine, so it was painless, but her body still screamed for sleep. That would have to wait though, the team was waiting for them.


	21. Goodbyes

Clint drove the SHIELD car while Nat had called shotgun and Katya was stuck in the back. She had thrown the woman a glare when she had opened the back door for her to step in the car, but Natasha's face said there was no room for discussion.

So Katya had sighed and dropped on the backseat with a huff, something Clint found very funny. ''Drive, Barton.'' She growled at him while almost burning a hole through the rearview mirror with her eyes. 

He just laughed harder. ''Did you feed her this morning?'' The man asked the woman in the seat next to him.

Natasha was happy to play along, a teasing smile on her lips. ''I did. Must be the morphine wearing off.''

''Shut up, both of you.'' The morphine was wearing off, her shoulder started to hurt more. She just wanted to get home and get some sleep, preferably with Nat next to her, but at the rate she was going right now, the redhead would have to sleep on the couch tonight. 

Clint drove away from the hospital, the humor still shining in his eyes. But Katya was too busy watching the world outside the car to notice. They drove through the city, but it was almost impossible in some areas. A lot of the streets were closed off so they had to take a longer route to get to the spot in Central Park they were supposed to be.

How Clint didn't puncture at least one tire was a miracle. Glass lay everywhere including small, sharp looking pieces of rock and metal. With every bump in the road, pain shot up Katya's shoulder, but her pain was irrelevant to the pain of the city. The pain of the people who were much worse off than her. 

She hadn't been outside like the rest of the Avengers had before. She had been stuck in the hospital for the whole night, this being the first time she saw the destruction done to the city.

Now she suddenly understood why Natasha was so upset this morning while watching the news. Why she blamed herself for this. Because in the end, it was partly their fault, SHIELD's fault, for luring Loki here. Their work with the cube had alerted the god of the power the people of Earth held. Messing with the Tesseract is what caused all this. SHIELD, and thus Katya, Nat and Clint, were just as much responsible for this as Loki.

She wanted to say something, but she didn't know what to say. No words could describe what she was feeling right now, so eventually, she just averted her eyes from the window, no longer able to look at the mess that was New York City. 

It wasn't the worst state she had ever seen a city in, but if you compare this to a week ago and add the area it covered, it was right on top of her list.

It was dead silent in the car as everyone tried to ignore the scene outside. Even Clint, who normally always had a joke at the ready, said nothing. It wasn't awkward, but Katya was happy when the car passed under the metal gate signaling the start of Central Park.

Natasha had already opened her door before Katya could unbuckle her seatbelt, grabbing her right arm and helping her out of the car. She was always so overprotective but it came from a good place, so the blonde spy didn't say anything as she straightened her shirt out. 

Natasha had grabbed her some clothes from their room before she had come to the hospital last night, knowing they would probably have to leave early in the morning. The redhead had clearly paid attention to what Katya would wear on days off, her favorite jacket hanging over her shoulders right now. 

The doctor (and Natasha) had insisted Katya wear a sling on her left arm as a way of resting her shoulder as best as possible. It was quite embarrassing actually. She felt like an invalid, but Natasha would kill her if she didn't wear it for at least a week. So she was stuck with the thing.

The rest of the Avengers were already there when they arrived. Steve sitting on his motorcycle which Katya didn't know how he could afford. Tony stepped out of his very expensive convertible wearing a very expensive suit. Even Bruce was there, no longer the Hulk but back to his awkward scientist self.

Multiple SHIELD agents surrounded the area, closing it off to any nosy civilians, but the habit of checking her surroundings would never leave. 

She didn't feel at ease. Her body expected an alien to jump out at any given moment, but of course, nothing happened, so she followed her friends to the two gods waiting in the middle of the open space.

Stark glanced at the sling around Katya's neck and opened his mouth to make a stupid joke, but her voice cut him off before the first sound came out. ''Not a single word, Stark.'' She man closed his mouth but had trouble keeping the smile from his face. Katya moved to stand next to Steve, who looked rather lonely.

''Glad to see you're doing better.'' He said when she stopped next to him, sending a genuine smile her way.

She managed a tiny smile while watching Stark fiddle with the Tesseract in front of them. ''Don't be fooled, I still feel like shit.'' Steve eyes widened at her curse word, but he said nothing, letting it slide for now. ''What about you?'' She asked just to be nice but also because she cared.

He gestured to his body. ''Super soldier.''

She rolled her eyes and stared at the developments in front of her. Stark had put the blue glowing cube she hated so much in a tube, ready for Thor and Loki to take back to Asgard. The Scepter would stay here on Earth for now. ''Right. Why do you get super healing and I don't.''

He didn't answer, because he was too occupied with the Tesseract, sending glares at it as if that would make it go away.

Katya saw Natasha whisper something in Clint's ear as they watched Loki. Whatever she said, it must have been funny because Clint smiled from behind his sunglasses. 

Thor was clearly ready to leave, sending the whole team nods before presenting Loki with the other end of the tube containing the Tesseract. But Katya wasn't ready for them to leave jet. Before Steve could react or stop her, she had already stalked up to the black haired god and put a knife to his throat. 

If she had been able to use her left arm, she would have grabbed his hair to expose his neck more, making her threat more effective. But this seemed to work just fine, the god widening his eyes because he didn't expect this and the rage in her blue eyes shocked him. 

Katya knew she wouldn't have much time before somebody pulled her away, so she whispered in a dangerously low voice so only he could hear it. ''If you ever come here again or mess with my friends, you're dead. I will cut you open, gut you and feed you to the lions. And that is a promise.'' Steve had finally snapped out of his shock and pulled on her arm, careful not to hurt her but strong enough so she couldn't resist. ''A promise!''

A little trail of blood left the cut she had made on the god's neck. She would have to be satisfied with that because it was all she could do to revenge Coulson. It was already way too much than he would want her to do. 

Katya didn't resist as Steve pulled her back to the spot they were originally standing, giving Thor and Loki the space to beam up. Her eyes fell on Nat and Clint who were both smiling at her little display. They would have wanted to be the ones to do that but her threat was enough.

She ripped her arm free from the supersoldier's grip and stared Loki straight in his eyes as both he and Thor disappeared into the sky. The god had looked seriously scared and if that wasn't an accomplishment, what was?

Everyone stared at the empty spot in front of them, some looking up at the sky to try and steal a glimpse of the two men, but they were gone. They were gone just as fast as they had appeared, with a show of light and power. 

Tony was the first to walk away, not one for sentiment. ''I don't know about you, but I have a tower to fix.'' His shiny car stood waiting for him, ready to go back and rebuild the whole building again. 

Knowing Stark, he would probably update it and not just restore it. 

Steve followed the billionaire to his car, shaking hands as a way of saying goodbye and thank you. A respect had formed between the two men that Katya had never seen coming. 

Natasha and Clint stepped away from the scene too, going back to the SHIELD car they had arrived in. Bruce followed suit, his stuff still being in the car that agents had collected from the lab on the Helicarrier. 

The ship would have to be completely fixed. It was a miracle the thing could still fly with the destruction that happened within. Walls were completely gone and electronics and pipes were all messed up. SHIELD had enough money, so they would probably just destroy this one and get a new one. So much faster and less expensive.

Katya stood on her own, still staring at the spot the gods had disappeared from. The appearance of Loki had pushed the world into another phase, a new world. Something they could never go back from. 

Aliens existed and although people had always suspected they weren't alone in the universe, this marked the start of a new age. 

She wasn't scared, just a little uneasy at not knowing what this would bring them. Who knows what kind of creatures are out there? Loki couldn't possibly be the worst of them, right? 

''Hey Girlfriend!'' A loud yell tore her from her thoughts, turning around to the source of the sound. Stark sat behind the wheel of his car, Bruce next to him. It wasn't a surprise the two men had bonded. The nerds within them had found their soulmate and it was clear they wanted to work together and see what their brilliant minds could come up with together.

Tony revved his engine once, a sign he was ready to go. ''See you next time!''

''Just because I have one usable arm doesn't mean I can't still kill you, Stark!'' Katya yelled after the car as it drove away. But she knew he had heard her.

She saw Steve smile from his motorcycle and while she knew she would see Stark again, she wasn't sure about the Captain. What did he even want to do with his life? Was fighting a new war really what he wanted? Was he joining her, Nat and Clint in SHIELD? 

Natasha leaned against the black car as her eyes followed Katya, who was saying goodbye to the Captain. 

''So, what are you going to do now?'' The blonde asked as the reached her teammate. ''Will you join us at SHIELD?''

The smile disappeared from his face, a crease forming between his eyebrows. He didn't know yet and that frustrated him. ''I don't know. Probably take some time off and figure out what I want to do with my life.''

She nodded once. ''You got a second chance, make sure you don't throw that away.''

His eyes flickered from the woman in front of him to the other spy at the car. He had read her file, he knew what had happened in her life that caused her to end up where she was now. He couldn't possibly understand what she went through, but the fact that they both got second chances at life wasn't much different. He smiled at Katya, thankful for her advice. ''Like you didn't.''

Katya saw his eyes move between her and Nat and she couldn't help but steal a glance of her own. She looked incredibly tough, standing there in her leather jacket with her arms crossed, a little smile on her lips. ''Got a lot for it in return, too.''

Steve saw her eyes lit up as she looked at Natasha and ignored the little jab in his stomach that was called jealousy. He wanted what they had some day. He had that, before he lost everything. ''Keep her, don't lose her like I did.''

She turned her head away from the car and back to the man in front of her, seeing the sadness in his eyes as he thought back to his lost friend back in the forties. ''Don't worry. I'm planning on keeping her for a long rime Rogers.''

He nodded, satisfied with her answer, starting up his bike and sending her a last smile. ''Maybe I'll see you in D.C. but goodbye for now.''

She sent the same smile back before stepping backwards slowly, her steps leading her to the car. ''See ya, Captain.''

''Almost thought you'd go with him.'' Natasha teased as Katya finally turned around to face her. 

''You can't get rid of me that easily, Romanoff.'' She answered as she walked to the back door of the car. Clint was already waiting inside, impatiently pressing the horn as a sign for them to get in. 

Natasha cornered her, pushing their bodies against the side of the black car. Bringing her lips to Katya's ear, she whispered in a low voice. ''That's too bad, I'll have to find another way then.''

The blonde couldn't stop the shiver running down her spine as her warm breath tickled against her neck. Soft lips kissed the skin below her ear, trying to get some sort of reaction out of Katya. It was   
almost impossible not to reach out and pull the redhead closer to her, but she wasn't going to give her the satisfaction today.

''Stop making out and get in!'' Clint yelled from inside, pushing the horn again.

Like nothing had happened, Natasha pulled away and sat down in the front seat. ''You coming?'' She asked sweetly when Katya still stood in the same place. Natasha could mess with her mind so easily. All she had to do was give her a look and she was gone.

She shook her head, trying to clear it and finally sat down on the backseat, ignoring Clint's eyes in the mirror. ''Where to, Mr. Barton?'' Katya changed the subject quickly.

Pushing the car into drive, he rolled out of the street. ''Home.''


	22. Home

Laura was already waiting for them in the doorway of the small house, having heard the Quinjet's arrival.

Katya loved coming here at Clint's house. It was everything she had dreamed of when she was little. A quiet place, no people around for miles, a cute little house with a family. It used to hurt whenever she would come here, reminding her of everything she could never have, but it didn't anymore.

She had moved on from those pointless wishes a long time ago, but it was still nice to come here. The peace and the space were so calming. That was also a down side though. At SHIELD, in the city, there was always something to do, something going on. Here, there was nothing. It was just you and your thoughts to distract you. 

She could never stay long, no longer than two weeks, but that was fine with her. Laura hated it when they would have to leave so soon every time. The woman didn't have much people to talk to around here, especially no grown-up woman like Katya and Natasha. That's why she always pampered them the time they were here.

Where Katya may have moved on from her dreams of ever living this life, Nat hadn't. The redhead was always happy to be here, but a little sadness was always present. A sadness that disappeared whenever they were back at SHIELD. 

What Clint had was everything Natasha wanted since she was little. A quiet life away from the horrors of the outside world. Somewhere she didn't have to be on edge all the time. Didn't have to look over her shoulder. 

Today was no different. Maybe it was even worse, because of the huge battle they just had. The contrast with the green landscape in front of them was very big.

So Katya stayed close to her girlfriend, who carried both their bags even after the blonde had protested that she still had one usable arm. Natasha had just given her a glare, ending the discussion. 

''Hi honey!'' Clint yelled to his wife when they were still far away from the house. Katya couldn't see it, but suspected Laura was rolling her eyes at his theatrics. 

The man hugged her and kissed her when he stepped on the porch first. ''You brought the girls!'' Laura exclaimed, almost pushing her husband away when she saw them standing behind him. Natasha dropped the bags she was holding and hugged the woman tightly. She didn't trust many people, but Laura belonged to the ones she did trust.

''How have you been, Laura?'' The redhead asked after she pulled away, scanning the woman's face to make sure she was telling the truth.

Laura smiled at Nat's concern for her wellbeing. ''A little lonely, but at least I have the kids.''

''Are they being nice? If not, I can take care of it for you.'' Natasha joked.

Laura laughed. ''Thanks Tasha, but they're the sweetest.'' Laura used the same nickname Clint used for the redhead. Her eyes traveled from the woman in front of her to the blonde one standing behind Natasha, awkwardly waiting for her to notice her.

The first time Clint had brought Katya here, she had been so nervous. Meeting new people wasn't her thing, especially when they were important to her friend. 

Katya didn't have friends before, didn't know how to act or what to say. But Laura made her feel welcome immediately, almost dragging the woman in the house and interrogating her about her relationship with Nat. Apparently, the Russian didn't want to talk about it herself, so she had to get the deeds from Katya.

They had laughed together and Laura seemed to trust her as if they had known each other for years. 

Now, coming here was like a warm bath. It felt like the home neither her or Nat had ever had before.

''What happened to you?!'' The brunette woman almost pushed Natasha away and stalked over to the blonde behind her. She was always so worried about them, about the missions they went on, if they would come back in one piece.

''I'm fine, Laura.'' Katya tried to set her at ease, brown eyes scanning her body to try and find more injuries that weren't so visible as the white swing around her shoulder.

But, of course, a certain someone had to spoil the fun. ''She's not fine. An alien stabbed her shoulder and burned her other arm.''

Katya sent her a glare. ''Thanks, Nat.'' It just earned her a shrug and a smirk.

''An alien? My god these missions of yours are getting more and more dangerous. Come in, I'll make some tea.'' She practically pushed Katya into the house, a firm hand on her back. The blonde had to keep herself from laughing. 

A firm hand pressed her down on the couch in the living room. This wasn't Katya's favorite place of the house, that was the kitchen, but this room was cozy too. The whole house felt really cozy in general, with soft colors lining the walls and windows letting in a lot of light.

''You still like strawberry tea?'' Laura asked her from the kitchen while filling the boiler with water. 

''I think I do. This is the only place I drink tea.''

''What?'' A brunette head peeked away behind the kitchen door. Brown eyes sent a warning glare to the other Russian spy in the room. ''Natasha, you have to do a better job at cutting her coffee supply.''

Katya eyed Natasha before smiling a mischievous smile. ''She drinks even more than I do.'' That was true. Natasha drank a lot more coffee than Katya did and that said something. 

Laura shook her head, disappointed in the two women she loved so much. She wanted to say something more, but the sound of quick footsteps on the stairs pulled everyone's attention to it. Cooper and Lila run down the steps, way too quick to be safe but today they would be forgiven for that.

''Auntie Nat!'' Lila launched herself at the spy, wrapping her small arms around her waist. Katya laughed at the girl before enjoying the view. Natasha with children was something that always warmed her heart. Katya knew having children was something that was high on her wish-list, but thanks to their past, it was made impossible and it was something her girlfriend really struggled with.

''Hey Lila.'' She picked up the girl and planted a kiss on her cheek. ''You've gotten so big!''

The little girl wrapped her arms around Nat's neck and played with her red hair the same way Katya always did, twisting the locks around her fingers absentmindedly. Big blue eyes stared at the woman in wonder. Laura's daughter clearly admired the spy. ''Hey Lila, don't steal my girl,'' Katya laughed from the couch, causing Lila to turn her head to her.

''Katariina!'' She was the only person who called her by her full name except Natasha sometimes. When Katya first came to Clint's house, Natasha introduced her as Katariina to the little girl just to taunt her. It clearly worked because Lila would only call her by her full name now, never speaking her new one.

Natasha laughed at the little glare Katya sent her every time Lila would call her that and put the girl down, who ran over to the blonde spy and jump next to her on the couch. ''Careful, Lila! Katya is hurt,'' Laura warned from the kitchen door. 

Big eyes stared at the sling around her neck, trying to pinpoint the source of the pain. ''Where?''

Katya moved the fabric just enough so the white bandage on her shoulder was visible. 

''Does it hurt?''

''Not really.'' She could feel Natasha's eyes burn into her skull because of the lie. ''It's nothing to worry about.''

Lila was obviously oblivious to the lie that just came out of her mouth, happy continuing asking questions. ''What happened?''

Katya wasn't sure if the girl had heard the news or saw the footage of the attack, so the blonde turned her head to Laura, who shook hers quietly. Either she hadn't told the youngest member of the Barton family about New York, or she didn't want her telling stories about aliens. Either way, Katya respected the woman's wish and turned back to the girl on her left. ''I was in a fight and I was too tired to catch his arm. Don't worry though, it will be okay.''

''Wasn't Nat with you?''

Katya had trouble hiding her smile. Lila just gave her the perfect opportunity to tease Nat. ''No, she was being reckless again. Fighting on her own on the roof of a tower.'' She said the words to the girl, but they were meant as a jab towards the woman still standing in the middle of the room. 

Lila turned her head to her, an angry scowl on her face that just looked cute. ''Auntie Nat, you have to look after Katariina better.'' Katya knew Nat wanted to strangle her right now, but had to keep a   
straight face for the girl. Laura had a big smile on her face too, loving this conversation.

''Thank you, Lila. Maybe she will listen to you.'' This time, Natasha did glare at Katya, although it was gone so quickly that the girl had missed it. 

A big smile formed on the girl's face, happy with the gratitude. ''Maybe I can look after you, be your partner.''

''I'm sorry, little one. I don't think your mother would like that.'' Lila looked from Katya to Laura, who shook her head, causing the girl to dip her head in disappointment. ''Maybe when you're older.'' New hope filled her eyes as she nodded furiously before jumping off the couch and running back up the stairs.

Cooper, who had watched the scene unfold quietly, stepped forward once his little sister had disappeared in her room again. He gave Nat a quick hug before doing the same with Katya. Cooper was shy and not a talker, so the fact that he gave them both a hug was quite brave. ''Hi Coop, how are you doing?'' 

The boy always had a blush on his cheeks whenever he was around the spy. Clint had told her after her first visit that his son wouldn't shut up about the pretty blonde woman who worked with him and Nat. He clearly had a little crush on her which she found adorable and Natasha found very funny, teasing Katya with it all the time.

''I'm good. You?'' He didn't look at her eyes when he spoke, the ground seemed a lot more interesting.

''Me too, thank you.'' 

He nodded, still not looking at her. ''Are you and Nat going to be staying here?''

''Yes we are. For as long as your mother will have us or we are called back to SHIELD.''

His eyes finally found the courage to find hers, a little hope behind them. ''Are you two still together?''

Katya saw Natasha grin from behind the boy, the chuckle masked by a little cough. ''Yes, Cooper. Tasha and I are still together.'' She smiled at him, trying to ease the disappointment flooding through his eyes. ''Why?'' She couldn't help but test him, see what he would answer.

''N-nothing, just curious.''

Clint, who thought this was enough taunting his son for today, stepped in and pushed the boy towards the stairs. ''Go play with your sister, dinner will be ready soon.''

Everyone watched the boy nod and turn around, walking back up the stairs he had come down from. 

''You guys are the worst. Why do you torment my children like that.'' Clint sent angry glares at Natasha and Katya, who were still laughing.

''Come on, Clint, it's too easy. Cooper clearly likes Katya, which is just adorable.''

''And Lila is definitely obsessed with Nat.'' Katya added.

Clint groaned while Laura just laughed, carrying two cups of tea into the living room. The blonde spy gratefully accepted one, the smell of strawberries hitting her nose as she blew at the hot water. Laura wanted to give the other one to Nat, but she picked up the bags she had dropped to catch Lila and moved for the stairs. ''I'll put these away first. Still the first door on the left, right?''

They always made jokes about the layout of the house. Clint was always working on it. He was impossible to keep still. He needed to work with his hands, not lay around the house and do nothing. Even when there was nothing to fix, Clint would come up with something new. Laura was tired of it, but knew her husband couldn't sit still.

Now he narrowed his eyes at his friend. ''Very funny. Yes, it's still the first door on the left.''

Natasha disappeared up the stairs, her laugh following her. She was in a good mood today, especially after the day they had yesterday and the lack of sleep last night. Even though she was out, Katya knew Nat had been pacing back and forth in her hospital room, anxious for her to wake up.

''Now that she's gone...'' Laura sat down next to Katya, who already knew what the brunette wanted to know. Laura loved hearing about their lives and whatever missions they had went on. But she loved hearing about their relationship even more. Besides Clint, she was probably their biggest fan.

A chuckle escaped Katya. ''What do you want to know this time?''

''Is she still treating you right? If not, I will kick her ass.''

The image in her head of Laura winning from Nat in a fight made her laugh out loud. ''Yes, Laura, Nat is being nice.''

''Are you being nice? Because I will kick your ass too.''

''You'll probably win while I'm stuck with this shoulder.''

Laura's eyes fell on her arm, the smile suddenly disappearing from her face. It wasn't difficult to guess what she was thinking about. She had heard about the battle of New York. Saw it on TV too. She must have been so scared, seeing her husband and two friends fight against creatures falling through a hole in the sky. ''How are you holding up with everything that happened yesterday?''

''I don't know. I was out last night so ask me again tomorrow.'' Laura knew about her nightmares. Clint had them too, Nat too. When they were all staying here, at least one person per night had a nightmare. Sometimes that went along with some screaming, but not often. 

The woman knew better than to push them for information. The nightmares didn't get any better if she did and Nat and Katya would only close themselves off more.

It was a big mess in the house that night. First Natasha woke Katya up because she was tossing and turning so wildly in her sleep that it became almost dangerous. She had almost attacked her red-haired girlfriend when she did, thinking she was a threat. 

Not long after they had both fallen asleep again, Natasha was the one with a nightmare. Problem was, she lay completely still if she did. No moving or making any sounds. The only way you could know she was having a nightmare, was because of the sweating and panting. That's why Katya only woke up when the spy sat up abruptly. 

Asking if she was okay was useless, Katya knew she wasn't but would say she was. Sleeping clearly wasn't an option tonight, so in the end, they just decided to start the day really early. It was only four when the two Russians made their way downstairs, only to run into Clint who ate a bowl of cereal in the kitchen.

The man looked up with sleep deprived eyes, chewing his early breakfast slowly. ''You too?'' Katya nodded when Natasha didn't answer, the woman getting her own breakfast. ''How's your arm?''

It sucked trying to sleep on it. Her whole left shoulder was completely off-limits and so sleeping on her left side was out of the question. On her back was better, but the right side was best. The burn on that arm didn't hurt, there were only some nasty bruises to dodge.

Her shoulder felt a little bit better after a good sleep, but her muscles didn't. Soreness ran through her whole body. Not one muscle didn't hurt. Arms were the worst. They had blocked so many attacks and thrown so many punches and stabs. Legs weren't great either. Running, crouching and kicking did that to them.

''It's not my shoulder that's bugging me. Please tell me you have something that numbs my entire body.''

Clint snorted before turning around and getting some pills from the medicine cabinet. Natasha eyed his movements warily, not liking the fact that he gave her pills so quickly. 

The woman was not in a good mood today. The lack of sleep catching up to her, including the horrors in her head. Katya didn't feel good either, but did a better job at hiding it. If Natasha was in a bad mood, the best thing you could do is leave her alone, but not for too long. Leave her to her brooding for a couple of hours and then go talk to her. 

So that is exactly what Katya did. Natasha locked herself up in their room for the day, while she talked to Laura and played with the kids, helping in the house. Normally she would also shoot some arrows with Clint, but holding a bow was out of the question this time.

In the evening, Laura and Katya stood in the kitchen, preparing dinner. Even though Katya had only one usable arm, she helped out as best she could. Setting the table and stirring the delicious food the brunette was making. Katya was zoned out, her mind on the woman upstairs, who she hadn't seen all day. 

Laura noticed her friend lost in her own head, and it wasn't difficult to figure out why. ''Go talk to her, I got this.'' 

The blonde raised an eyebrow. ''Is it that obvious?''

''Yes, now go.'' With one last smile, Katya dropped the spoon she was holding and stepped out of the kitchen, dreading the heavy talk she was about to have.


	23. Blame

She was not looking forward to the talk at hand. 

Both her and Nat really didn't like talking about feelings and things that were bothering them. 

Usually they just stored it all away until it either imploded or exploded, most of the time in a really ugly way.

To avoid that, Katya took the leap today and decided to talk about everything before Natasha had closed off that subject and moved on. 

Two short knocks on the closed bedroom door (bad sign), alerted the redhead of Katya's presence. Normally, she would just barge in, but the state Natasha was in was a little uncertain so she knocked anyway. 

Not even waiting for an answer, Katya opened the door and closed it behind her, creating a little privacy as far as that was possible in this house with six people in it. 

Nat was sitting on the bed, back against the headrest, knees pulled up to her chest. Beside her lay a book, open, upside down. It looked like it hadn't been touched in hours though, Katya had caught the redhead staring at the red wall in front of her. The thoughts in her head way more interesting than the story on paper. 

Clint had painted the walls red as a little joke, because Natasha was the only one sleeping in that room. It practically belonged to her. It meant a lot more to her though, something she had never told Clint. The had never had a home, a real warm place to live. When he painted this room in her colors, he gave her something she had never had before.

Green eyes focused on Katya as she walked in, the rest of Nat's body not moving at all. ''Hey.''

If any other person besides Clint or Katya would have walked in, the pain and doubts in her eyes wouldn't have been visible and she would have pretended to be fine. But with her friend and girlfriend, it was of no use.

''Hey Red.'' Natasha rolled her eyes every time she used that nickname, but Katya knew she secretly loved it.

The blonde walked over to the bed, where Natasha scooted over so she could sit next to her. Katya would have gathered her in her arms, but because of her stupid arm, she couldn't, so she opted for brushing her hand through the short red hair. 

Nat closed her eyes, enjoying the feeling of fingers in her hair. For a while, it was silent, the conversation hinging above both their heads, neither wanting to give up this peaceful silence yet.

When Katya's fingers finally stopped moving, Natasha knew what was coming next. ''Tell me what's going on in that complicated mind of yours.'' The words were almost a whisper, the sound too loud in the otherwise very quiet house.

That was always the biggest shock whenever they came here. In D.C., even though the Triscelion was surrounded with a big lake and wasn't right in the middle of the city, loud city noises like sirens and horns were ever present. Here, in this little house in the middle of nowhere, there was nothing. 

No cars, no traffic in general, no noises besides birds and the wind blowing through the trees. And the occasional child running through the house of course.

It calmed Katya down but at the same time made her feel uneasy. Like something were to happen at any moment.

Natasha smiled, turning her head just enough so she could look at Katya. ''You're demanding today, I'm usually the demanding one.'' 

She tried to change the subject with the joke, but that wasn't going to work today. ''Sorry Nat, you're not getting out of this one.''

The smile disappeared, her eyes returning to the spot on the wall. ''Just trying to process the fact that we fought aliens yesterday.''

''Ah, yes, that happened.''

Katya saw a little frustration on Nat's face, a crease appearing between her eyebrows. ''Clint was right. We weren't prepared for it. Nothing had prepared us for this and we went anyway.'' She was angry at Loki and the aliens for messing with their minds. For giving them even more trauma than they already had. She acted as if she regretted going, but Katya knew that if Natasha could go back, she would do the same thing.

She didn't regret fighting, she was just frustrated because of the aftermath the battle brought them. The fight might have ended yesterday, but the one in their heads had just begun.

With her free hand, Katya carefully grabbed Natasha's chin and made her look at her. Her touch immediately relaxed the redhead a bit, but the doubt still shone in her eyes. ''We went not only because it was our duty but also because we wanted to, we needed to protect our world.''

Natasha scoffed when she grabbed the blondes hand and held it tightly. ''Yes and look what we got out of it. Our minds messed up even more and one shoulder that will probably never fully heal.''

Ahh now it was clear why she had been sitting here all day. ''That's what this is about. Is that why you have been avoiding me?''

Natasha averted her eyes, focusing on their intertwined hands. Katya had caught the main reason she had been sitting here on her own all day. 

The spy had tried to hide it well, but seeing Katya in that white hospital bed, pale but still strong did more to her than anyone thought it did. 

The free fall her heart did when she saw the state her girlfriend was in couldn't have been healthy. Pure panic was the only emotion she felt in that moment. Natasha couldn't lose Katya. Never. Even if she still had Clint, picking up life after losing the one person who knew everything about her was just unimaginable.

The fact that she would have been dead if the alien had stabbed her a couple inches lower or had actually punctured a major artery gnawed at her mind. 

She hadn't been there to watch her back and even her own teammates hadn't looked out for the blonde like they should have. It made her angry and sad, knowing she could have avoided the pain Katya was in right now, had she been by her side and not on top of a tower.

What she had been doing all day is beat herself up over it.

Katya suppressed a sigh, knowing the redhead couldn't help herself sometimes. ''Talia, I love you and your protectiveness, but don't beat yourself up over it. If it was anyone's fault, it was my own.''

Like always, Natasha's heart jumped at the three little words. She could happily say she never got used to them and probably never will. Taking Katya's love for granted was the one thing she would never do, could never do. It was still unreal but slowly she had accepted that the blonde was telling the truth when she said she loved her. 

It had taken some time, but she was still here and had never done anything that proved otherwise. So Natasha had finally accepted Katya would never leave on her own, only if Natasha wanted her to go and maybe not even then.

''Why do you always do that?'' Instead of acceptance, Natasha's eyes held frustration and a little anger.

''Do what?''

The spy stood up from the bed, pacing back and forth in the small room. ''Take the blame away from me. You're allowed to yell at me Katya.'' Point is, Natasha wanted Katya to yell at her, because she thought she deserved it. Her anger would be a creditable punishment for leaving her so selfish in battle.

''Why would I yell at you when there is no reason to?''

Natasha stopped walking to look at Katya. ''When there's no reason to? You almost died!''

''I'm fine, Nat.'' Katya said softly, trying to turn down the volume of this conversation a little. Natasha had raised her voice without knowing.

The woman shook her head. ''That's what you always say, but I know you aren't. I'm not the only one easy to read.''

Katya closed the distance between them in a few steps, forcing the other spy to look at her, even if she didn't want to. ''You're right, I'm not fine. I'm tired, my whole body hurts and my mind is a mess, but none of that is your fault. If you want to blame anybody, blame that sickening god we locked away.''

Natasha scoffed, walking around the blonde woman and continuing her pacing. ''There you go again, blaming anyone but me.''

''If it was you who almost died instead of me, would you blame me for leaving you? Would you blame Clint?''

No. That was the first thought entering Natasha's head. It would eat her alive if Katya blamed herself for anything happening to her. They would probably be having the same conversation, but with the roles reversed.

Katya took her silence as an answer, nodding to herself quietly. ''Then why do you blame yourself?''

''Because I deserve it. Look at you,'' she gestured to her shoulder, ''I could have prevented that.''

''Maybe. But it is a miracle everyone survived the battle in the first place, including you. Especially you. What were you thinking? Jumping on a flying alien chariot and using it to fly to the tower.’’ 

With her eyes still on the ground, Nat shrugged her shoulders, her feet leaving a trail in the carpet. ''Someone had to close that portal.''

''Yeah but next time, let that be Tony please. Someone who can actually fly.'' 

A little knock on the door startled them and broke the little bubble they had found themselves in. ''Yes?'' Katya called out.

Slowly, the wooden door opened, Lila poking her head through. ''Mommy said to get you. Dinner is ready.''

''Thanks Lil, we will be right down.'' Katya wanted the girl out of here quickly, not wanting the tension to fall on her. But it was already too late, Lila had felt the thick atmosphere.

Her big eyes flickered between Nat, who had finally stopped pacing, and Katya, who had forced a smile on her lips. ''Are you having a fight? Mommy said Nat is sad.''

Said woman looked up at the mention of her name. Quickly walking to the door, she crouched in front of the girl and laid her hands on her shoulders. ''I'm okay, Lila. Just a little tired. Now go tell your mom that we will be right down, okay?''

Lila believed everything Nat told her, her big eyes scanning Natasha's green ones. Nodding, the door closed softly when she left to go downstairs.

''Are we done here?'' The blonde spoke up after a little silence. When Natasha didn't turn around from the door, Katya moved around and stood in her line of vision, back against the door. ''Hey, look at me. Are we done here?'' Her voice was gentle, trying to connect their eyes.

Natasha nodded, but it wasn't very convincing.

''Look. I know getting you to change your mind is useless, but promise me you will try and let this go. I need you, Nat.'' This finally made her look up, the green softening immediately. ''Your mind isn't the only messed up one. You know what happens if I'm alone all day, especially now. Don't shut me out, please.''

This time, her nod was way more convincing. Katya knew this was hard for both of them, but with each argument, Natasha trusted her a little bit more. Let herself accept Katya's words a little bit better. 

The roles were also often reversed, with Natasha being the one comforting the blonde. And while she was a little more uncomfortable with that, they always managed to find a way out of it.

Katya knew this was all she could do or say to convince her, the rest was up to Nat. ''Alright, let's go eat.''

Natasha followed the blonde out the door, down the hall towards the stairs. Their footsteps not even audible on the creaking floorboards. ''I'm really not hungry.''

''That's too bad because I helped make it so you're eating it.''

A light chuckle came from behind Katya as she made her way down the stairs, a chuckle that made her feel a lot better. ''Now I'm definitely not hungry.''

''Shut up you or I'll push you down the stairs. Don't think that I can't do that only because I have one arm.''

Laura saw immediately that things were okay between the two women, both coming down with a smile on their faces. Her questioning look was answered by Katya with a nod, letting the brunette know everything was fine.

The nightmares slowly but surely got better over the course of two weeks. They were still present, but not as intense. Almost everyone slept through the night at the end of their stay. 

The two spies were preparing to leave on the fourteenth day, leaving Clint and his family to their own business and get back to SHIELD, where Katya predicted they were needed badly. 

The arrival of aliens flipped the whole world upside down and SHIELD was probably dealing with a lot, so it was too selfish to stay here at Clint's for longer than two weeks. They had had their little break, both Nat and Katya felt a lot better, rested. And both really missed doing something.

Katya's shoulder had been out of the sling for a week now, slowly using her left arm for little movements and light work. Natasha kept a close eye on it, changing the bandage every day and keeping it clean. And making sure Katya didn't use it too intently, something she was prone on doing.

It didn't hurt as bad anymore, but her muscles had already weakened and would need a lot of exercise to strengthen them again. Going on missions was out of the question for at least two months, but Katya could make herself useful within SHIELD in different ways. Help come up with strategies for missions, plan missions and transport, oversee missions, that kind of stuff. Nothing that required too much movements with her arm.

Katya was drawing with Lila at the kitchen table when her phone rang. Katya only had a phone for work purposes. She only used it for SHIELD activity and not for recreational use like social media. It wasn't really her cup of tea.

Prying the black phone from her jeans pocket, she quickly accepted the call when Fury's name was displayed on the screen. ''Yes?''

''Petrova, we need you and Romanoff back in D.C.. I know you are having a little break, but we have a mission we need your help on.''

Katya suppressed a sigh, this was not the ending of their vacation she had hoped for. ''Alright, we will be there in a couple hours.''

Lila, who had sensed what it was about, looked up at her disappointed, sad they had to leave already.

Fury ended the call without any more words. He was a man of efficiency and never wasted time talking when he didn't have to. Nat and him had that in common.

''Sorry Lil, work calls.'' Katya reached out and stroked the girl's hair. Normally she would have braided her hair, something Lila always begged her to do whenever the blonde spy was here, but now that was too difficult of a job.

''But you and Nat just got here.'' The girl pouted.

''I know, I'm sorry, but they need us.''

It was silent for a while, Katya watched the gears in the girls mind turn. ''Are you going to catch some bad guys?''

A chuckle escaped the blonde. ''I think Natasha will have to do the catching for now, but I'll watch over her, don't worry.'' This set the girl at ease a little, nodding before going back to her drawing. Lila didn't have any idea of the horrors in this world and Katya was happy she didn't. Anything to protect her from undergoing the same fate as her was totally worth it.

Katya slid her drawing over Lila's, making her focus on the pencil lines. ''What do you think?'' Katya was not an artist by any means, but she was actually proud of what she had drawn today. Clint's daughter loved horses so Katya had drawn a unicorn, complete with bright colored mane and tail.

The girl gasped and picked it up, admiring it with big eyes. ''I love it!''

''You can keep it. I think it suits your room better than mine.''

''Thank you!'' She jumped off the chair and hugged Katya's side, careful not to hurt her.

''You're welcome. Now do you know where I can find Nat?'' She knew all too well where the redhead was, but she was curious to see if Lila had traced her movements too.

She nodded. ''On the porch with dad.''

''Thank you.'' The faint voices of the two friends had travelled through the open front door to the kitchen for a while now. It wasn't loud enough to make out any words, but just loud enough to know they were sitting there.

Katya stepped on the porch, interrupting their talk. ''Sorry to interrupt, but Fury just called, they need us back in D.C.'' The second part of the sentence was directed towards the woman who sat so relaxed in the wooden chair that it made Katya immediately happy. It was rare to see her so relaxed, the redhead always stressed about something.

She nodded, standing up from her chair and making her way over to Katya, who leaned against the doorframe. ''That man is a pain in my ass sometimes. I'll get our things, can you get Laura?''

The brunette had disappeared into Coopers room not long ago, helping him with some homework. 

Katya nodded, following her up the stairs and knocking Coopers door before entering. The red blush on the boy's cheeks immediately returned when he saw who was standing in the doorway. ''Fury just called, they need us back in D.C.'' Katya repeated the exact same words she just told Nat.

Laura nodded, not protesting because it was of no use with Fury. ''That's too bad. You're leaving right now?''

''Yes. Nat is getting our stuff and then we take the jet back to SHIELD.''

The brunette stood up, urging Cooper to do the same. ''Okay, but not without a proper send-off.''

Katya laughed, knowing the woman would wave at the jet until they had disappeared out of sight. ''I didn't expect anything else.''

Everyone wounded up standing at the back of the jet that was parked in the middle of one of the big fields surrounding Clint's house. 

Laura hugged both women tightly, whispering goodbyes and warnings in their ears, which caused both Katya and Natasha to laugh, knowing the brunette worried about them too much. ''If she's trouble, you call me, okay?'' Laura said with a little nod towards the redhead.

''I will hold you to that.'' Katya hugged Lila tightly and promised she would braid her hair next time. She gave Cooper a little kiss on his cheek, which resulted in even redder cheeks on the boy. They would see Clint again soon, knowing he would be called in too, eventually. So he only got a smile before the two women walked up the ramp and into the jet.

Katya waved one final time before Natasha closed the door and powered up the engines. It had been the little break they needed, but now it was time to go to work again. Do the jobs they were meant to do. 

It was quiet in the jet, the landscape slowly changing from green fields to city areas, a sign that their break was officially over and they were back to being the SHIELD spies they had gotten used to be.


	24. Double Trouble

2014

It had been two years since the battle of New York. A normal thing would be forgotten by now, but the city still wasn't back to what it used to be. Shops were still closed, a lot of people had gone out of business or moved away. Some streets still had holes in them, buildings too. 

Katya was not surprised to see the Captain at SHIELD headquarters right after she had returned from her stay at Clint's two years ago. She knew the man couldn't just ignore the fact that he was able to help the world and just walk away. His heart was too big for that.

So Rogers had been appointed a little apartment in the outskirts of the city. A quiet neighborhood with small houses just like he was used to. What he didn't know is he was placed under the protection of one very special SHIELD Agent. Family of founding member Peggy Carter herself. Sharon was nice, but she was not someone Katya was friends with. 

They didn't hate each other, but they didn't exactly work either. It was purely work they discussed with each other, nothing more, nothing less. 

But his neighbor 'Kate' being SHIELD Agent 'Sharon' was not the only thing the Captain didn't know. Fury had ordered Katya to bug the man's apartment, something she had done with a little reluctance. While she understood the Director just wanted Rogers to be safe, it felt like a breach of privacy. 

The Captain quickly found himself giving the orders on missions he went on. They were usually with the S.T.R.I.K.E. team, a really powerful team of strong men meant for breaching buildings and taking down entire armies within minutes. Head of that team was Brock Rumlow, a man Katya mistrusted completely. There was something about him that gave her the creeps. 

Maybe it was his eyes or the way he looked at her. Like she was prey and he was the hunter. Natasha hated him too, mostly because of the way he looked at Katya and yelled orders at her, even though she was above him when it came to authority. 

But starting a fight with one of the guys she often worked with was not an option, so she mostly just ignored him and threw dirty looks. 

Steve, Natasha and Katya worked together sometimes, when a mission needed both strength and stealth, but not often. The two women were spies, they went on undercover missions and retrieve information. That was their main job. Although Fury deployed them on missions that involved fighting too.

Like the doctors had predicted, Katya's shoulder had never gone back to the way it used to be. The muscles in her shoulder had been damaged too heavily. She could fight and shoot and throw knives, but the strength in her left arm wasn't nearly as good as in her right arm. Pulling her body up when hanging onto something was a real pain, only having one hand to do that. 

Luckily though, Natasha and Katya had come up with some smart moves to relieve the pressure put on her weak arm. If any enemy were to know of her injury, they could use it against her. So hours of training and strengthening it as much as possible allowed her to fight around it. Using the strong parts of her body in a smart way to get the same effect and still fight strong.

Her right arm had a really nice round scar on the upper arm. It was a nice three inch almost circle-like scar that was just a slightly different color than her own skin tone. Not that she cared. Her body held enough scars already, so what was one more.

Both women were fast asleep when the little beeper in the room went off. It was an alarm that let them know a sudden mission popped up and they were needed in Fury's office immediately. Natasha groaned before reaching forward and slamming on the button that ended the annoying noise. The clock on the wall told her it was a little past five. Whatever was going on must be serious or Fury would have waited at least an hour to call them in.

Katya was up too, both spies awake at the littlest of sounds, and reluctantly let go of the redhead's waist she was holding onto. 

Natasha nudged her shoulder softly when the blonde woke up a little too slowly for her liking. ''Come on sleepyhead, boss needs us.''

''And I need coffee.''

Natasha chuckled before pressing a kiss to Katya's forehead, brushing the strands of hair from her face. ''One coffee coming up.''

Katya smiled with her eyes closed. ''You're an angel.''

''I know.''

Reluctantly, Katya threw the covers off her body and put some clothes on before brushing her hair and teeth. She gratefully accepted the coffee Natasha gave her, which earned the redhead a little kiss, and followed her out the door, to the elevator. 

As soon as the doors opened, Katya wished she had stayed in bed. Rumlow stood in the middle of the elevator, arms crossed and tapping his foot impatiently. The man smiled the same disgusting smile when he saw Katya, completely ignoring the woman at her side. ''Petrova'', he nodded.

She just nodded back curtly, leaning against the railing on the side while Natasha gave him a mean glare. 

''Called in by Fury too?'' His dark eyes still only focused on Katya, who had trouble keeping a straight face. She had just woke up from a very short night and didn't even finish her coffee yet and this man was already talking to her. 

Humming a yes, her eyes stared into the brown liquid of the cup she was holding, the warmth spreading through her fingers.

''Wonder what it's about.'' Katya narrowed her eyes at his tone, finally looking up to study his face. He knew more than he let on and he sounded a little too happy about something. 

Natasha caught on to it too, narrowing her own eyes at the man. ''What do you know?''

With two exceptionally trained spies, lying was no use, but he did it anyway, although he tried a half-lie to try and throw them off. ''Something about a hijacked boat, that's all I heard.''

He quickly trained his eyes on the elevator door, Natasha and Katya sharing a knowing look. The man couldn't fool them. He knew something and seemed too happy about it at this hour.

Katya drank her coffee in silence, wanting to force the elevator to go up quicker so the awkward tension in this little room was finally broken. At the forty-first floor, it finally stopped moving and the doors opened. Katya all but ran out, escaping the painful moment. 

Turning a few corners, Rumlow was the one to knock on Fury's door. The man, already expecting them, called out immediately, giving them permission to enter. ''Ten minutes, that must be a record.''

With one hand, he motioned for them to come closer. He stood up, a sign that whatever was going on didn't even let him have time to properly explain what was going on in peace. He gave three files to every Agent, including one extra to Katya, which had the name 'Steve Rogers' on the front. So they would be working with him today. 

If the Captain was brought in, this was more serious than any of them had expected.

''These contain everything you need to know. Romanoff, Petrova, get Rogers. He is currently on his morning run at the Washington Monument. There's a car ready for you in the garage.'' He threw a set of keys to Natasha, knowing she was the one to drive it. 

''Rumlow, get your team together, take the jet, wait for Romanoff and Petrova to arrive with Rogers and go fix this mess. Instructions and details are all in the files.'' He gestured to the folders in their hands. ''The Captain is in charge, make sure he knows what's going on.'' Everyone nodded, understanding their job. ''Rumlow, you're dismissed.''

The man looked a bit confused by the fact that only he was sent out of the room, but didn't question the Director. With a nod, he left the room and closed the door behind him. Off to get his STRIKE buddies and conjure up a plan for the mission.

With Rumlow leaving the room, Fury's demeanor changed immediately. He was now amongst friends, not just colleagues. A frown appeared between his eyebrows as he sat down in his black leather chair that looked really comfortable. 

The spies on the other side of the desk followed suit, sitting on the edge of the small chairs. Whatever was coming now, it was serious. Leaning forward, Fury placed his elbows on the table, folding his hands together. ''I have a side-mission for you. Rogers can't know about this, because he wouldn't understand.'' Now Katya was intrigued. Whatever was so important, the Captain couldn't know about it. 

The fact that he trusted them to do this, was an honor really.

Placing a thumb drive on the smooth surface of his desk, he slid it towards Natasha, who was clearly in charge of this 'side-mission'. ''The hijacked boat is SHIELD's. I want you to save the intel on those computers. Anything you can get your hands on. Make sure you get in and out unnoticed. I don't want people asking questions.'' His one eye switched between the two women, who were listening to his explanation weirdly. Why did Fury want them to save SHIELD intel?

It was not their place to ask questions, though. They did whatever he needed of them, no questions asked. To be honest, this wasn't by far the weirdest thing he had asked of them. Bugging Rogers' apartment was way higher on that list.

''Rogers will give the orders, but it is most likely he will keep you two together. Then we have no problems. If not,'' his eye focused on Nat, ''you're in charge of getting that intel.'' He probably saw the confused looks on their faces, even though they tried to hide it. ''I know this doesn’t make any sense. It probably is nothing, but I want to make sure it is nothing.''

Natasha spoke up for the first time. ''Whatever you need from us. No questions asked.''

''That's why I gave you this mission. Let me know if you run into any other trouble.'' This whole conversation was weird. The man was clearly hiding something, but couldn't or wouldn't share it with them. 

It made both spies feel uneasy but they didn't complain. They never complained.

''Yes, sir.'' Katya said for the both of them, knowing Natasha was thinking the same but didn't say anything either.

He nodded curtly, eyes scanning both their faces while he leaned back in his chair. ''Then you're dismissed. Good luck.''

With two nods, the women walked out, ready to get their stuff and pick up Rogers. There was complete silence between them, both not having to speak out to know what the other was thinking. 

It was also too risky to talk about it. The whole HQ had camera's with audio function everywhere. Both spies were very aware of the eyes and ears on them. The car wouldn't be safe to talk either. That was also wired with microphones and camera's. 

Neither women wanting to change in a whole jet full of men, they put their suits on already, both throwing on a jacket over it, trying to hide the SHIELD logo's on their sleeves. If they were going to drive straight through D.C., any unwanted attention isn't what they needed.

Although maybe the car they were going to drive today was capable of doing that on its own. It was a beautiful, fast, black car which completely suited Natasha's attitude. Katya had to admit that the redhead looked very hot, driving that badass car with her leather jacket and her fiery red hair. 

Natasha had let it grow out a little bit, just enough so it fell over her shoulders. It was also completely straight now, like she ironed it every morning. The thing was, they were both so used to changing up their hair to throw off enemies, that it stuck with them. While Natasha had gone for longer hair, Katya had picked up the scissors, cutting her hair at almost the same length Nat had it now.

It had distracted her from reading the file on her lap, trying to understand the mission and explain it to Nat while she was focusing on driving.

''You're staring.'' Natasha said out of the blue. Not even looking at Katya but having felt her blue eyes on her face.

''I'm admiring you.'' Katya corrected, not even ashamed she caught her staring.

Natasha smirked, eyes still on the road. ''You're staring.''

''How can I not? You look really hot right now.''

The redhead's smile grew bigger, a little chuckle following also. ''Charmer. Tell me about the boat.''

''Sorry I haven't actually read anything, you've been distracting me.''

Nat shook her head, laughing. ''Katya.''

''Alright, alright, calm down.'' The blonde ripped her eyes away from the woman next to her and back to the file in her hands. ''Satellite launching platform. Pirates took it two days ago already. They have hostiles, not clear how many. They have one demand: billion and a half.''

Natasha scoffed at the amount of money. ''SHIELD doesn't negotiate.''

''Looks like they don't know that.''

''Control room?'' Natasha dared to ask. It was a risk, asking her subtly where the computers were on the ship. They had to discuss this now, while they were still alone.

Katya checked the lay-out of the boat that also sat in the folder Fury had given them. ''On deck, front left side of the boat.''

Natasha nodded, probably trying to picture the boat in her head. While on a mission, it was important to know your exits and escape routes if you wanted to make it out when something went wrong. The spy always had multiple back-up plans in her head in case one failed. All of them included Katya too, even if she didn't know it.

Removing her right hand off the steering wheel, Natasha fished her phone out of her jacket pocket and started fiddling with it. 

''Natalia Romanova, don't you know it is forbidden to text and drive.'' Katya snatched the phone out of her hand and out of her reach. 

The woman next to her smirked and raised an eyebrow. ''Really? We kill people for a living and you correct me on texting and driving?''

''You want to kill innocent people on the road? I don't think so.''

Rolling her eyes, she finally gave in. ''Fine. Text Steve for me will you.''

Katya smiled because of her victory and looked for the Captain's number in Nat's phone. Her fingers typed a quick message, short and simple, easy for even the Captain to understand with this technology. 'Mission alert. Extraction imminent. Meet at the curb.' 

Natasha eyed the text on the screen. ''Add a smiley.''

Katya chuckled, raising an eyebrow. ''Really?''

''Just do it.''

''Yes ma'am.'' Her quick fingers typed a simple smiley at the end, which Rogers would probably understand. ''How is this?'' 'Mission alert. Extraction imminent. Meet at the curb, :)' It now said on the screen.

She nodded, satisfied with her suggestion. ''Perfect.''

''You're weird.'' Katya mumbled while hitting send.

''Thanks babe.''

Not even twenty seconds after the message had reached Steve, Natasha pulled up along the curb of the giant plaza. The soldier stood talking to another man, who looked like he was seriously tired from running. Katya didn't know him, but she was sure Fury was already researching him right now to make sure he wasn't a threat. 

Revving the engine to get their attention, Natasha rolled Katya's window down so she could talk to them better. Placing her hand on Katya's thigh, she leaned over her and ducked her head a bit to see the two men. ''Hey, fellas. Either one of you know where the Smithsonian is? I'm here to pick up a fossil.'' Katya couldn't hold in her laugh. The redhead could sometimes make such random and cheesy jokes that it took her by surprise.

''That's hilarious.'' Steve said to her while he walked over to the car. Because Katya was in the front and Natasha definitely wasn't going to make her move, Steve had to squeeze in the back, which was harder than it looked. The sportscar was not really made for more than two people. 

The other guy, who stayed behind on his own, had to crouch down to see inside the car and he had a good reason to do so. The redhead beside Katya had caught his attention, a flirtatious smile on his face as he stared at her. Katya narrowed her eyes at him, warning him to back off, but he seemed to occupied with Nat.

He even dared to ask her a question. ''How you doing?''

''Hey,'' she answered with a same sort of smile on her face, although it was meant to tease Katya more than as an answer to the man's smile.

''Nat!'' Katya hissed at her, not happy with her flirting. The spy just laughed at her angry face, giving her thigh a squeeze that made Katya forget all about being angry.

Steve spoke from the back, clearly an inside joke going on between the two guys. ''Can't run everywhere.''

''No, you can't.''

With those last words, Natasha finally pulled away from the curve, hitting the throttle so fast the car sped away with a loud roar. Her hand never left Katya's thigh though, something that didn't go unnoticed by the supersoldier in the back.

''Morning Rogers. Here's your debriefing.'' Katya turned around in her seat a little bit, just enough to give him the files she had been holding for him.

''Thank you Katya. Will you both be on this mission?''

''If you'll have us.'' She joked. 

''Always. We make a good team.''

Katya shared a quick look with Natasha when the man dived into the papers in his hands, knowing teamwork wasn't part of the mission today. Hopefully nothing went wrong because they had a side-mission the Captain didn't know about. As long as they got the hostages out and the boat back, it was all good.


	25. A New Mission

Natasha drove the car through D.C. in a very dangerous way, narrowingly avoiding other cars and speeding through traffic. Katya just shook her head. The woman just loved the speed and danger, who is she to take that away from her.

Steve was busy reading his file in the back, sometimes asking the two agents in front something, but he was mostly quiet, probably conjuring up a plan in his head. The file didn't hold all recent information, between the conversation with Fury and the briefing on the jet they were about to have, new information undoubtedly popped up. Rumlow would brief them on that, since he was already waiting for them.

The car sped to the jet, coming to an abrupt halt next to it. Nat turned off the engine and got out before Katya could even unbuckle her seatbelt and got their stuff from the trunk. Meaning their weapons that they didn't feel like sharing with others.

She shoved Steve's uniform in his arms and locked the car before marching to the jet, Katya and the Captain on her heels. Steve may be leading this mission, but Nat was the one in charge right now. 

Rumlow sent the woman a dirty look when she stepped in first, which she completely ignored of course. Next came Katya, who got that same knowing smile he always gave her. The one that gave her the creeps. Steve, forever being a nice person, nodded a greeting to the leader of STRIKE, immediately disappearing in the small bathroom to change into his uniform.

Fury had ordered SHIELD's clothing department to design a new suit for him. This one was a lot darker, more navy than blue. It was modern and overall less showpony and more soldier. Katya liked this one definitely better. 

Natasha nudged her, gaining her attention. She was holding out one of Katya's guns for her to grab and put in their holsters on her thighs. She always wore one, but she had two on missions, just a precaution in case something happened with the first one or she had to shoot with her non-dominant hand. ''Thanks.'' She muttered, also accepting the knives the redhead was offering her.

She knew Katya's arsenal from beginning to end and always knew which weapons she would like for which missions. That's how much attention she paid to everything she did.

It was going to be a very long flight. The SHIELD ship they were taking back, was sailing in the Indian Ocean when it was hijacked. For your information, the Indian Ocean lies between Afrika, Australia and India. It was almost the other side of the world if you started from D.C. 

It would be dark out when they reached it, that was a big advantage. They could slip in unnoticed and take down a lot of pirates before the boss would even know what was going on. It would spare them a big gunfight and hopefully wounds.

They had nothing to do for at least ten hours and that was a long time to be locked up in a small ship with a lot of people. It almost made Katya claustrophobic all over again. What she did was try and get some sleep and ignore the eyes on her. Crawling into the corner of the bench, she pulled her knees to her chest and laid her head to the wall of the plane. It was everything but comfortable, but it was the   
best it would get for now.

All kinds of thoughts ran through her head as soon as she closed her eyes. The quiet conversations of the other agents were blocked out by the sounds of the plane. Turbulence shook her body every now and then and the cold from outside seeped through the walls. Up in the air, it wasn't as warm as it had been on the ground in D.C. Suppressing the shivers, she eventually fell asleep until a soft nudge on her shoulder woke her up.

Natasha sat next to her on the bench, offering the blonde something to eat. It was important to have enough energy before a big mission like this, something Katya forgot from time to time. Luckily, Natasha was here who made sure the spy ate enough to keep her energy levels up. 

Katya flashed her a smile before gratefully accepting the food, slowly chewing on the power bar that tasted like nothing but did the job. Agents around them were doing their best to keep themselves busy. Some trying to sleep like Katya did, others reading their files or other books. Some listening to music or watching a video. Whatever they needed to distract them from the long wait. 

''What time is it?'' She whispered to Nat to not draw too much attention to them.

''Half past one.'' That meant they had to wait for at least another five hours. Katya groaned silently. She hated waiting. Natasha was the patient one, not her. 

Looking around quickly, nobody was watching the two, so Katya dared grab her girlfriends hand and play with her fingers. Natasha's hands were warm, in contrary to Katya's cold, numb ones.

Natasha frowned, taking Katya's hands in her own to try and warm them up. ''Jesus Katya, you're freezing.''

''It's cold.'' She didn't have to say that again, the redhead turning around and grabbing her own leather jacket she had taken off before. Draping the black fabric over her body, her smell immediately filled Katya's nose, relaxing her completely. ''Thank you.''

''You're welcome. Now go and get some more sleep, I'll wake you up when we're almost there.''

''What about you?'' She didn't want to go to sleep knowing Natasha didn't have anything to do.

But the woman waved a tablet in the air, letting Katya know she wasn't bored. The blonde nodded, satisfied with the answer, before closing her eyes again and drifting off to sleep. When you're always in different places and on missions a lot of the time, you learn to sleep in the weirdest places. Katya could sleep everywhere and at any time, getting all the sleep she could. 

She was well-rested when Natasha woke her up again, the commotion inside the jet letting her know they were almost there. Rumlow was standing in front of a screen, trying to get it to work and show what he wanted, the rest of his team surrounding him. 

Katya stretched in her seat, unlocking the frozen muscles and giving Nat her jacket back. It had helped a little. She was still a little cold, but not freezing anymore. Since her hair was so short now, she couldn't braid it anymore. A ponytail was also almost impossible but she managed. It may not look nice, but at least her hair was out of her face. 

The men of STRIKE parted when Nat stalked over to stand in front of the screen, they were clearly afraid of her and the woman following behind. Steve, clearly in charge today, stood at the front, closely studying the information. He had to decide where everyone had to go and what their assignments were. It was up to him to make sure no one died today except the pirates.

''The target is a mobile satellite launch platform: The Lemurian Star. They were sending up their last payload when pirates took them, 93 minutes ago.'' Rumlow started his explanation. Natasha's eyes were fixed on the screen, one hand under her chin. 

''Any demands?'' Steve got straight to the point, wanting to know if any more demands had popped up from the other side.

But no, the pirates still had the same amount of money in their heads. ''Billion and a half.''

''Why so steep?'' Wasn't it in his file that it was a SHIELD boat they were taking back? How much information did Fury leave out of his file to ensure he didn't suspect anything until now?

Katya bend around Nat so she could see Steve on her other side better. ''Because it SHIELD's.''

His eyes went from confused to pissed very quickly. He clearly hated cleaning up other people's messes, especially SHIELD's. ''So it's not off-course, it's trespassing.'' It wasn't a question, rather a conclusion he'd rather not make.

Natasha felt his frustration too and tried to calm him down a little. ''I'm sure they have a good reason.''

''You know, I'm getting a little tired of being Fury's janitor.'' He answered her, eyebrows raised at her easy reaction to all of this. He clearly hadn't worked enough with her to know that Natasha didn't care what the mission was, she was up to anything and the same thing applied to Katya.

They didn't ask any questions, just did what they were told. 

''Relax, it's not that complicated,'' the redhead mumbled back.

Her words seemed to work, because the Captain turned around to the screen again, asking the next question to Rumlow. ''How many pirates?''

The man swiped over the screen, showing the different pirates they knew were on board. ''Twenty-five, top mercs, led by this guy. Georges Batroc.'' As soon as the guy's picture was placed next to his name, a wave of recognition hit Katya. She knew this man.

''I know him.'' All eyes were on her now, the screen completely forgotten. Natasha next to her raised an eyebrow, while Steve just stared at her judgingly. ''Ex-DGSE, Action Division. He's at the top of Interpol's Red Notice. Before the French demobilized him, he had thirty-six kill missions. The guy's got a rep for maximum casualties. Couldn't kill me though.'' She shrugged at the end, bragging a little. 

A smirk tugged at Natasha's lips while Steve just completely ignored it. He had gotten the gist of it. The man was dangerous and Rogers was the only person who would be able to beat him in a fight. As good as Nat and Katya were, they lacked the simple strength to take this guy on.

''Hostages?'' The Captain dragged everyone's attention back to the task at hand.

''Uh...mostly techs. One officer, Jasper Sitwell.'' There's that guy again. Katya had a weird feeling when it came to the bald Agent. Besides, what was he doing on that ship? He had nothing to do there. 

''They're in the galley.''

''What's Sitwell doing on a launch ship?'' Katya could hear Steve mutter to himself, before raising his voice to give orders. He had heard enough and knew what to do. ''Alright, I'm gonna sweep the deck and find Batroc.'' Now it comes. Would the Captain keep her and Nat together so they could execute their little side-mission together, or would he dare take them apart. 

''Nat, Katya, you kill the engines and wait for instructions. Rumlow, you sweep aft, find the hostages, get them to the life-pods, get 'em out. Let's move.''

That was a fortunate development. Now they would be able to complete their mission together, Natasha wouldn't be alone in trying to get to the computers unnoticed and steal the data.

''STRIKE, you heard the Cap. Gear up.'' Rumlow ordered his team, while Katya fixed her earpiece in her ear and checked her weapons one final time. Nat did the same thing, making sure her electric gloves were on and working. 

''Secure channel seven.'' Steve said into his wrist, checking if the comms were working like they were supposed to. He had gotten used to them quite quickly the moment he started working for SHIELD. It wasn't very difficult technology to work, but it took some practice. 

Natasha answered immediately. ''Seven secure. Did you do anything fun Saturday night?'' 

''Stripclub? Marihuana?''

Steve glared at her while Natasha chuckled at the idea of Steve visiting a stripclub or smoking a joint. ''Well, all the guys from my barbershop quartet are dead, so no, not really.''

''Coming up by the drop zone, Cap.'' A voice told him in their ears, causing him to smash the button opening the back door of the jet.

But Natasha didn't give up, still talking to him while he fixed his helmet on his head and walked backwards to the open door. ''You know, if you ask Kristen out, from Statistics, she'd probably say yes.'' 

Katya laughed at her attempt at match-making. Natasha had made it her personal mission to find the Captain a date, looking for potential candidates within SHIELD and running their backgrounds to make sure they're nice and clean.

But Steve didn't seem interested. ''That's why I don't ask.''

''Too shy or too scared?'' Natasha shouted over the noise of the wind.

''Too busy!'' With those words, he jumped out of the jet. No parachute or anything. It was like he didn't care if the fell to his death, being too confident with the strength of his body.

Katya turned to Nat while fastening a parachute on her back. Maybe Steve trusted the sea to catch him, she didn't want to take the risk. ''He doesn't know what he's missing out on.''

''He doesn't.'' The redhead agreed, giving her a little wink between fixing her own parachute on her back. 

''Time to go, Agents.'' Rumlow said while he walked passed them, STRIKE on his heels. 

Katya rolled her eyes at the way he said their titles, like they were worth less. She didn't react however, just waited for them all to jump out and then finally followed them to the boat. 

She hated jumping out of planes. It wasn't the height, she loved heights, it was the helplessness and vulnerability while hanging below a parachute. It moved so slowly that you were almost unable to defend yourself while still in the air. A few precise shots at the ropes and you would fall down to Earth. A fall you wouldn't survive from even a small distance. 

It sucked to have to land on a boat even more. It didn't move fast, but it moved. And the strong wind that blew over the sea surface didn't exactly help either. But she managed, landing a little behind Nat who quickly shrugged off her parachute to make a quick get-away.

The redhead hadn't forgotten about the little conversation Steve literally jumped out of. She wasn't letting him off so easily. ''What about the nurse that lives across the hall from you? She seems kind of nice.'' Katya threw her a warning look. Focusing too much attention on the SHIELD Agent living next to Steve could blow her cover.

''Or Madison from Mission Control? She's hot.'' Natasha glared at her, pushing her towards the railing they were supposed to jump over.

Steve was annoyed they were still talking about this and not focusing on the mission. He didn't know they were so comfortable with these things that they were able to joke around while executing their mission perfectly at the same time. ''Secure the engine room, then find me a date.''

''We're multitasking!'' Natasha said right before jumping after Katya over the railing. She hoped this mission would go smoothly and they would be able to get the information unnoticed.


	26. Oops

It went rather smoothly. They ran into some knocked out pirates Rogers had taken care off before, until they made it to the door that would lead them below deck.

The engine room was on the lowest level and while the Captain had done a good job clearing the deck, they would definitely run into some guards on their way to their destination.

It was all quick and easy. These pirates were clearly not the best in the business. Or they just couldn't handle the spies' quick moves. Just a couple more stairs to go before they made it down when suddenly the loud ringing of a phone echoed through the stairwell.

''Oui?'' A scrawny looking guy who awkwardly held his gun answered the phone really loudly. He had no idea two spies had sneaked up behind him. Katya wanted to move past Natasha to take him out while he was still distracted, but a hand stopped her, the quirky smile on the redhead's face saying she had something else in mind. 

Katya rolled her eyes but stood back nevertheless. If Natasha wanted to have some fun, who was she to stop her. 

A loud voice spoke on the other side of the line. It was French, that was clear, but the words were inaudible. ''Okay.'' The guy spoke again, hanging up the phone and turning around to walk away. He froze in his spot when he saw the beautiful spy casually standing there, giving him a wide smile and teasing eyes. 

To be honest, Katya would have been distracted by her beauty too, and it didn't seem to matter which gender the Russian used her charms on, Natasha was just irresistible. 

''Hey, sailor.'' She said in a flirting tone when he eyed her up and down. Before suddenly kicking his knee, a very disturbing breaking sound audible, then wrapping a cord around his neck and jumping down into the space between the stairs, letting the cord carry her weight.

''Nat!'' Katya hissed after her when she disappeared without any warning. Running down the circular staircase quickly, she just followed the sound of gunshots to track her girlfriends position, jumping over two men lying on the stairs before finally getting to her partner again.

The Russian didn't even wait for Katya to catch up to her, walking a few steps in front. ''Did you miss me?'' she finally asked when she felt her presence behind her.

''I hate you.''

A silent chuckle filled the hallway, both women still alert for any enemies they might run into. There were a couple more hallways to secure before making the engine room when Katya felt someone behind her. Turning around quickly, one of her knives had already left her hand before the guy could grasp what was happening. 

Stealth was the key in this mission, so her guns had to stay in their holsters unless they were absolutely needed. Not that she needed them. She liked her knives better anyway.

The short blade lodged itself into the man's thigh, causing him to fall on his knees. With one simple kick to his temple, he was out. ''Nice.'' Natasha commented from behind.

''Thanks babe.'' Plucking the knife from his leg, Katya swiped it across the man's arm to get the blood off. The last thing she wanted was a dirty knife.

Continuing their way, the loud pacing of a guard could be heard from the level above, where the two spies were walking. Katya had no idea where they had found these pirates, but they sucked. 

''Natasha, Katya, what's your status?'' Katya wanted to answer, but she was too occupied with sneaking up behind the guy. If she were to talk now, he would have pointed his gun at them immediately and a gunshot wound would really suck right now. 

Both women jumped down, silently landing below. ''Status, Natasha?'' Natasha rushed to take the man down, but not before answering Rogers. ''Hang on!'' Before climbing on the man's shoulders and tasering him with her gloves. 

The noise had attracted two other guys, the first engaging the red-haired Agent in a fight, while Katya quickly attacked the second pirate from behind before he could get a grip on her.

These guys were strong and muscular, but that was also their weakness. Katya and Nat were maybe less strong, but much quicker and flexible. So while the guy tried to elbow the blonde in her face, she had already kicked his knees out and caught him in a headlock. 

He tried to pry her hands off his neck, like that would work, when finally, after ten very long seconds, he went down. ''Asshole.'' She muttered to herself when he fell face-first onto the floor. That would be a beautiful blue nose tomorrow. 

Natasha had taken her guy down too, swiping his legs from under him in one swift motion. ''Engine room secure.'' She breathed in her comm, letting Steve know they were good. With one final swing from a metal pole, she knocked out her guy. That looked really painful, especially with the power Nat had.

''Now for part two of this mission.'' The Russian said, walking out with Katya on her heels. Loud noises could be heard outside. Cap had given STRIKE the order to enter the galley and take out every last pirate. Katya didn't feel any guilt as she followed Nat to the stairs, swiftly running to deck-level. She knew Rogers could handle whatever was happening right now. If something went wrong, he could plan around the disappearance of two of his agents.

As if she had predicted something to go wrong, just one floor down from their destination, Rogers himself spoke into her ear. ''Natasha, Katya, Batroc's on the move. Circle back to Rumlow and protect the hostages.'' Sorry hostages, but you're not the priority today. The intel Fury wanted was most important. At least to the two women on the team.

''Natasha! Katya!'' The Captain hissed in their ear, impatient. What struck Katya most was that he was immediately angry. His voice was angry. Yes they had checked in thirty seconds ago, but that didn't mean that they were completely safe now. There could be some hidden danger that had gotten the best of both of them. Rogers wasn't worried, which was what Katya would be if Nat didn't answer immediately, he was angry, which told her everything she needed to know about the way he saw them.

''Well, he's pissed.'' Natasha said with a smirk when she pushed open the steel door to the computer room. Nobody was there, thank god, Katya would hate for another knife to get dirty today. 

Katya scoffed, closing the door behind her to not leave any trails behind. ''He can be pissed at Fury, we're just doing our jobs.''

''Don't think he sees it that way.'' Natasha walked over to the first computer she saw, with a good view of the two doors leading into the room, taking the flash drive out of her sleeve pocket. 

Katya hopped up on the desk next to the computer. Natasha was way more skilled at hacking and computers. Not that Katya couldn't hack her way into multiple files or websites, Nat was just a lot better at it. And quicker, quicker is what they needed. ''Don't care, let's just get that intel and get the hell out of here. I hate boats.''

Natasha didn't even look up from the screen she had bowed down in front of, trying to copy the information from the computer to the drive. ''Huh, didn't know you did.''

''They creep me out. I don't know why.'' Katya watched her face intently, seeing her bright green eyes flicker left and right, finding the right buttons to click and codes to enter on the screen. Despite killing and knocking out some pirates along the way, there wasn't one bead of sweat on her forehead, although her red hair had fallen in her face. Now you understood why Katya always wore her hair in an elastic. 

''You're staring again. I can't concentrate like this Katya'', Natasha chuckled softly.

''Sorry.'' She muttered, getting a knife out of her belt and twirling it around in her hand, watching as the harmless part of the deadly weapon hit her skin every second. Isn't it funny that such a deadly thing could become so harmless the second it wasn't sharp? The same with a gun. As soon as it wasn't loaded, it was just a piece of plastic, no harm done. But with a bullet that could easily make 2500 feet per second, it was the deadliest weapon in her arsenal?

The loading bar was about halfway when suddenly the door to the room was busted down and fell inside. Katya had already thrown her knife before she saw who it was. It lodged itself into the steel wall behind the two fallen men, who were on the ground already. The Captain punched Bartoc unconscious, heavily panting from what she believed to be a good fight. 

The man hadn't even noticed the knife flying above his head or the fact that two spies were in this room with him. One furiously typing away on the keyboard while the other had relaxed again, now that the threat was eliminated as fast as it had come, already fiddling with other knife while sitting on the table. 

''Well, this is awkward.'' Natasha broke the silence, knowing Steve would see them any minute now. 

He got up immediately, looking between Katya, who gave him a little wave, to Natasha, who had focuses her eyes on the screen again. ''What are you doing?'' Yup, he was angry, like they had predicted.

''Backing up the hard drive. It's a good habit to get into.'' Natasha wasted no time beating around the bush. She could have lied if she wanted to, Rogers would have probably believed her, but what was the point? He had already caught them and the man wasn't blind or dumb. If he wanted to figure something out, he would. He was very determined. 

Checking to make sure Batroc was still out, he walked over to them while loudly complaining. ''Rumlow needed your help. What the hell are you doing here?'' He stopped next to Natasha, trying to figure out the things displaying on the screen.

Despite being new to all this, he could see the loading bar being more than three-quarters full by now. And maybe the fact that it very openly said 'File Transfer Sequence' above it, told him enough. 

''You're saving SHIELD Intel.''

''Whatever we can get our hands on.'' Katya spoke up for the first time, making his angry blue eyes focus on her. Her nonchalant attitude didn't sit right with him, she saw that. But really she couldn't care less. He may be in charge of this mission, but the women's mission came from higher-up. It overruled this one. If Rogers had a problem, he could fight it out with Fury. 

''Our mission is to rescue hostages.'' He said angrily to the blonde, who shrugged her shoulders.

''No. That's your mission.'' Natasha corrected him, the computer making a little sound that let her know the transfer was complete. Grabbing the flash drive from the slot, she turned around to face him to say the next part in his face. ''And you've done it beautifully.''

Katya jumped off the table, ready to follow her, when Rogers suddenly grabbed both their arms as they passed him. ''You two just jeopardized this whole operation.'' His head turned from side to side to look both agents in their eyes. He was very angry, steam almost coming out of his ears. His grip was so tight that Katya couldn't get her arm out of it even if it were her good one. His thumb was pressing into her weak muscle, the one that was still painful and she had to bite her lip to not let out a whimper.

''I think that's overstating things.''

Suddenly, Batroc rises pulling the pin out of a grenade, catching Natasha and Katya's attention, who already start running towards the exit they had determined before. Steve hits the grenade with his shield, trying to get it away from them as soon as possible, before following the two women. He grabbed them both around the waist, his shield in front of their faces to protect them from the glass he jumped through. 

They had just hit the floor when the grenade exploded with a loud bang, fire filling the room they were just in. Quickly sitting against the wall to protect them from the fire, everyone panted loudly while Katya held her painful shoulder. He had landed on it, and that was not a good idea.

''Okay. That one's on us.'' Natasha took the blame for distracting Rogers from Bartoc, almost killing them in the process.

''You're damn right.'' The Captain said angrily, standing up and walking out, leaving the two spies to fend for themselves. Natasha sighed, not happy with getting him angry at them, closing her eyes and resting her head back for a second before turning it to the blonde a little away.

Green eyes fell on the shoulder Katya was still clutching. It would need some ice to drown the pain out and definitely some painkillers. ''Your shoulder?''

Katya nodded, angry at her own body for not doing what she wanted it to. ''Damn shoulder. It's so frustrating'', she growled.

Natasha stood up slowly, a little wobbly at first, before grabbing Katya's good arm and helping her up. ''Let's get back to the jet before Rogers leaves without us.'' She tried to lighten the mood a little, but it didn't have much effect.

They completed the mission, but not without making some sacrifices along the way. It would be a while before the Captain trusted them again and would want to work with them. Besides, Batroc got away and now they had to find this dangerous guy again. And Steve found out about their side-mission. Yeah it wasn't a good day.


	27. Secrets

The Captain didn't say a word to them the entire flight back. Not even when Natasha pressed some ice against Katya's shoulder or gave her some pills to relieve the pain. Normally the Captain cared very much about everyone on his team, but know he couldn't even look at them without the deep crease forming between his brows.

He was the first one to storm out of the jet when it landed, probably on his way to see Fury. He hadn't slept in the last 24 hours, it was just light out when they arrived back at the Triskelion, but that didn't seem to bother him at all. The man had energy for ten. 

Natasha dragged Katya to the medical wing, even when she insisted that was unnecessary. But the redhead wouldn't hear her protests and just pushed and pulled her though the hallways. Multiple agents passed them, making room for two of the best spies the organization had. Besides, no one wanted to get in Natasha's way when she was on a mission, a personal mission.

''Nat, I'm fine. It doesn't hurt anymore.'' Katya tried for the final time to get away from the hospital room that was coming closer and closer. She really hated people touching her and checking her injuries. 

''Stop whining, you're getting it checked out.''

The nurse at the front desk almost broke her neck with how fast she looked up to the two women walking towards her. Natasha was a patient person, but not when it came to Katya getting fixed up. Yeah, she had yelled at that nurse before, when it took too long in her opinion for a doctor to come see them. It wasn't nice, but it was just her concern taking over.

With a sigh, Katya gave in, knowing it was no use to try and get her to change her mind. The nurse pointed them to the first room on the left, saying the doctor would be with them immediately. She had learned from last time. 

The blonde's fingers zipped her uniform down a little, just enough so she could slip her arms out and her shoulders were assessable for the doctor. They would usually poke around a little, trying to feel if it hurt more than usual. Sometimes they would take pictures, see if the muscle had ripped again. Most of the time, everything was fine, the muscle had just had a blow and would be fine the next day.

That was probably what was going on here, but the doctor rushed in like she was dying. Quickly rushing towards the bed, where Katya did her best not to roll her eyes. The man was just doing his job, although he was heavily avoiding eye contact with her. Katya had quite a reputation within SHIELD, everyone knew about her but the rumors were blown up a bit more than she would have expected.

Agents were afraid to look her in the eye, like she would kill them for that. But nothing to do about it now. Besides, she didn't really care, they left her alone like this. 

''Agent Petrova, what seems to be the problem?''

She scoffed, no longer being able to hide her irritation for being here. ''What do you think? It's that messed up shoulder again.''

''What happened?''

He knew what happened, he wanted to make sure she didn't have a concussion and could tell him why her shoulder hurt.

''Had to jump through a window, trying to avoid being killed by a grenade. Landed on my shoulder.'' It was a miracle no glass pieces were stuck in her skin. They just grazed it, leaving little abrasions, nothing too deep. 

The doctor put his gloved hands on her shoulder, pressing into the muscles a bit. ''Does it hurt?''

''It did. But we iced it and I took some pills. Now I don't feel it anymore.''

He spoke while examining her body. ''How long ago did you take them?''

Katya looked at Nat, who had probably remembered that, knowing the doctor would ask. ''Around six hours ago. She took two.''

''The ones I prescribed?''

''Yes.'' Just as the redhead answered, the doctor's finger pressed right at the center of the pain, causing Katya to hiss and wince a little. But nothing passed the doctor's professional eye or the one of her worried girlfriend across from her. 

Nodding to himself quietly, the man removed his gloves and took a few steps back. ''Nothing's torn, but the muscle's had a big blow from crashing into the ground. Just take it easy the next few days. Take some pills if you have to. Preferably one, but if it's really bad, two is also fine. If the pain worsens, come back and we'll take some photo's to rule out any damage.''

''Are you sure that's all?'' Natasha was not convinced, concern written all over her face.

The doctor nodded. ''Yes. I assure you that she's fine.''

Katya's blue eyes focused on the worried woman in front of her, who had stood up from the chair she was in. ''I told you, Nat. Now can we please go see Fury and get some sleep.''

''Fine.'' The spy reluctantly let the subject go, needing some sleep herself. It had been a short night two days before and an exhausting night last night, with all the fighting and running. 

Katya zipped up her uniform and jumped off the bed, ready to deliver Fury the flash drive and take a long shower, getting rid of all the dirt on her face from the explosion and clean the cuts on her body. 

The doctor didn't get a thank you or a goodbye, the two agents rushing off to do their next task. He had gotten used to the lack of gratitude his patients showed. While normal people maybe dealt with one injury a year, these agents had multiple per month or week. Visiting the doctor was as normal as eating or sleeping.

''Director's office,'' Katya said to the ceiling of the elevator when they stepped in, three waiting agents making room for the two assassins stepping in. 

The blonde spy studied her nails as she waited for the doors to open again. Keeping good and clean nails was almost impossible in this line of work, but she tried her hardest. Long nails were out of the question, of course. They would break while fighting and hinder you in certain tasks. After a mission, her nails usually held a lot of dirt and most of the time also blood. Blood from scratching her enemies skin or from retrieving the knives she had thrown. 

Today was no different, the red clearly visible under the whites of her nails. It was a bitch to get it away, especially the blood. Blood stained everything it came into contact with. Clothes, skin, hair. SHIELD had certain tricks to get it out of uniforms. The scientists had developed a special soap for the clothing department that would completely get rid of the blood, but still, the red sucked.

Finally, the doors opened and Katya followed Natasha out, trying to keep up with the quick pace she was holding. Knocking on the thick brown door, Natasha waited patiently for permission to enter. She hated rules, but she respected Fury and his privacy, knowing he would have the same thing in return.

''Enter.'' His strong voice sounded through the door. ''Ah, Romanoff, Petrova, I had been expecting you earlier.''

''Sorry sir, Katya had to get her shoulder checked out.'' The Director knew about her shoulder. Of course he knew. It didn't influence the missions she was assigned, but he made sure she could handle them with one weak arm. He cared about the blonde spy and Natasha would probably kill him if it was his fault she died. 

''Everything okay?'' He asked Katya while she walked over to his desk, taking a seat in one of the chairs. 

She nodded once, wanting to get this over with already. ''Yes, sir. Just a little blow, nothing serious.''

''Good to hear, Agent.'' He replied, before directing his attention to Natasha. ''I suspect you have something for me?'' He knew they would get their assignment done, no matter what. And he was right, they had gotten what they were looking for. 

Natasha nodded, taking the flash drive from the hidden pocket on her arm and sliding it over to the man. ''As ordered.''

''Thank you. Good work.''

Katya felt the need to apologize they weren't able to keep their own mission hidden from the Captain. ''Apologies about Rogers finding out, sir.''

His one eye trained on her, seeing the sincerity in her face. ''That's fine, Petrova. If I'm right and this contains what I think it does, he would have found out soon anyways.''

''Do you mind me asking what that is?'' Bold move, Natasha. 

A smile tugged at the corners of Fury's lips, also appreciating her boldness. ''Not at all, but I cannot give you an answer yet, seeing as I don't know for sure myself.''

Natasha nodded, her red hair following the movement. 

The leather chair creaked as the Director leaned backwards, breaking the closeness between them. ''Get some rest, go clean up.'' His voice changed tone, from intimate to relaxed. ''And look after that shoulder.'' The last part was directed to Katya, who sent him a smile.

''Will do, sir.''

''Dismissed.'' Both women stood up quickly, exiting the room without another word, ready to get some well-deserved rest.

It was weird to go to sleep in the middle of the day. It was around nine A.M. when they were finally in bed, showered and clean. Katya fell asleep immediately. Even though she had slept on the plane outward flight, that was more than sixteen hours ago and her body was exhausted. 

Natasha couldn't sleep though. Something didn't sit right with her. This whole mission smelled. It wasn't unusual for Fury to give them a separate mission, but something shady was going on and the feeling in her stomach told her it was something bad. It had Fury nervous and nothing could unnerve the man.

After an hour of staring at the ceiling and the woman cuddled up to her, she wanted to get up, knowing sleep wouldn't come like this. Checking again to make sure Katya was asleep, she tried to pry the blonde's arms from around her waist and slip away from underneath the covers. But just as she lifted her head from the pillow, the grip around her body tightened.

''Uh-uh.'' Katya hummed a quiet refusal while keeping her eyes closed. Natasha wasn't the only stubborn or worried one. The Russian hadn't slept in more than 24 hours, she needed her rest too. But she refused to let anyone take care of her.

''Kat-''

''No but's, you need sleep too'', the spy muttered in her neck.

''I can't sleep.''

''Then just lay here. You can stare at me if you want.'' A little smile crept on her face at the end, her eyes still closed. She looked so peaceful like this, completely different from the person she was outside of this room.

Natasha raised an amused eyebrow, even though Katya didn't see it. ''I do that anyway.''

A chuckle came from beside her. ''I know.'' Finally opening her eyes, she tilted her head up a bit so she could catch the redhead's gaze. ''Talk to me then, I'll listen.''

''Talk about what?''

''Whatever you have been thinking about for the last hour. Don't think that just because I'm asleep I'm not aware of what you're doing. You can't fool me, Romanoff.''

Natasha sighed, giving in to her stubbornness. ''Fine.''

Katya nodded, satisfied with the answer, before snuggling her head back into Nat's neck, her breath traveling over her skin.

''This mission doesn't sit right with me. Fury's not telling us something.''

Natasha could feel Katya frown. ''Fury doesn't tell us a lot of things.''

''You said you'll listen, not talk.'' A smile audible in her voice.

''Someone has to correct you.''

Natasha shook her head quietly, before continuing her story. ''This is different. I have never seen Fury so worried about something. Saving SHIELD intel from a ship? What does he expect to find on there that he can't find here? He's the Director of SHIELD, he shouldn't have to order two agents in a secret mission to steal information from his own organization. And those pirates, they weren't motivated. At least not the ones we encountered. If they wanted to take over a SHIELD boat, they were doing a really bad job at it.''

Katya hummed, letting her know she was still listening and hadn't fallen asleep. 

''But this Batroc. He seemed like the real deal. How did you say you knew him?''

Katya smiled secretly, but said nothing.

That she was hiding something didn't go unnoticed by Natasha, narrowing her eyes, she tried again. ''Katya?''

''Sorry, you said I'm not allowed to talk, only listen.''

Natasha groaned while Katya just chuckled. There wasn't really anything to tell about the guy, but teasing Nat was just too much fun. 

But she wasn't giving up, trying to get out of bed again as a form of protest. ''No.'' Katya whined when she felt Natasha's body move again.

''Will you tell me then?''

''Yes, I'll tell you.''

Relaxing again, she suppressed the smile forming on her lips and listened attentively to the blonde's next words. 

Pushing herself up on her elbow so she could look Nat in the eye, she told her about the hunt for the man back when she was still working for a terrorist organization. ''He was actually very fun to track down. The guy's smart, he predicts his enemy's moves before they can make them. But so do I. We played cat and mouse for a while, each time the roles reversing. Until I put a bullet in his stomach after a couple of months. Had hoped he died because he never came looking for me again, but apparently, he didn't. Don't know how, pretty sure that bullet perforated his liver.''

Natasha stared at her, waiting for more. When that didn't come, she raised an eyebrow in question. ''That's it?''

Katya laughed. ''What? You expected something else?''

''I don't know, maybe something more spectacular.''

''Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but that's the whole story.''

''Hmm.'' She still wasn't convinced, searching Katya's eyes for a lie that wasn't there. They were just smiling along with her lips.

''Are you ready to sleep now?''

''Pushy.'' The redhead muttered, but settled down anyway, hoping to catch some sleep this time around, having spoken her thoughts out loud. 

Katya just laughed again, pressing a kiss to her girlfriend's cheek before hugging her close again. This time, both fell asleep immediately, the exhaustion from the mission taking over their bodies.


	28. A Loss

Because they slept for about six hours in the morning, Natasha and Katya weren't tired in the afternoon, leading to them filling out their mission reports at eight o' clock at night while chewing on some dinner. 

The food from the cafeteria was fine. It didn't taste amazing, but it gave them enough energy if needed. Most of the time however, one of them cooked or they just got takeout, preferably Chinese or pizza. Tonight was pizza night, since neither of them felt like cooking today and were craving something salty and fat.

Katya sat on the floor, legs crossed, her laptop on the coffee table along with her pizza. Filling out mission reports sucked. It took such a long time to explain the events of the previous night, especially because they had to work around the fact that they went on a separate mission. Natasha and Katya had to match their stories perfectly so nobody reading this rapport would have any suspicions. 

The Captain's rapport lay on the table. Natasha had stolen it from the file cabinet at mission control. If the man had said something about them not responding and doing their own thing while he needed their help, their story would fail immediately. Luckily though, Rogers seemed to understand something secret was going on. He had left out their part and didn't even mention the grenade.

That wasn't an option for both women, since the doctor knew about it and was a witness to their lie. 

Only the sound of fingers tapping the keys on the laptops was audible in the room. Natasha's nails making a lot of noise against the plastic. How she kept her nails so perfect was a big mystery to Katya.   
The redhead sat across from her on the couch. Her laptop resting on her own crossed legs. The glow the screen emitted lit up her whole face, the green of her eyes a lighter color than they normally were. 

Katya stretched her back with a loud groan, the muscles in her back stiff from sitting in the same position for so long. Natasha rolled her eyes at the theatrics but kept them on the screen. That was until the blonde stood up to clean the dishes.

''You done already?'' She asked, frowning when Katya took her plate too.

Katya nodded. ''Just enough detail to keep them from asking questions but not enough to raise suspicions.'' Waiting for the water to turn hot, she leaned against the counter to see Natasha nod and turn her attention to the screen again. 

''Maybe I should just copy yours.''

''That will definitely raise suspicions,'' Katya laughed.

''Yeah but then I can finally be done and I can do something fun.''

Suppressing the smirk on her face, knowing damn well what she meant, Katya answered her like she was completely oblivious. ''Like what?''

Natasha smirked, her eyes still on the screen and tapping away at the keyboard. ''You.''

A loud chuckle left Katya's lips. Very subtle Natasha. ''Well, you better keep typing then.'' She could see the redhead's eyes widen a bit, but didn't react otherwise. Although her fingers moved a little faster than before. 

Turning around to the sink, she threw in a little bit of dish soap and cleaned the dirty plates and other dishes that had piled up during the day. Her hand just reached for the towel when the loud ringing of a phone sounded in the apartment. With her hands still wet, she called out for Natasha to take it for her. ''Can you get it, babe?''

A loud groan came from behind Katya, the sound of rustling telling her her girlfriend stood up and walked over to the phone on the nightstand. ''Yes?'' Her stern voice said curtly, not in the mood for any of it.

Katya could hear someone talk on the other side of the line, but after he or she went silent, Natasha didn't say anything back. Worried, she turned around from the counter and saw the frozen body of her girlfriend stand next to the bed. The blonde all but dropped the towel, quickly making her way over to the Russian. ''Nat? What's wrong?''

Tears she almost never saw, were forming in her beautiful green eyes. ''Fury.'' Nothing more came out of her, completely shocked with the news she had received. 

Taking the phone from her hand, Katya brought it to her ear. ''Tell me,'' she demanded, while keeping a close eye on the woman in front of her. 

''Fury's been shot, he's in surgery right now.'' Maria Hill's voice had never sounded to stressed and anxious before. She loved the man and respected him so much. What was SHIELD without Nick Fury?

Katya's heart stopped, but she forced herself to answer. Nat already needed her, she couldn't freeze too. ''Where?''

''MedStar Washington Hospital Center, third floor, surgery room two.''

''We're on our way.'' Katya ended the call and stuffed the phone in her back pocket. Natasha finally came back to life, scrambling for her boots and jacket while Katya did the same, the car keys rattling in her pocket. 

The redhead was already out of the door before Katya had her leather jacket, which was actually Nat's, on. Throwing the door in the lock behind her, she rushed after the spy who was already halfway down the hall. Her foot tapped impatiently while waiting for the elevator, biting her lip to keep tears from falling. 

Katya wasn't much different and she hadn't known Nick as long as Natasha had. He had already made such an impression on her. Despite everything, the man had always given Katya a chance to prove herself. He didn't judge people on their worst mistakes and such people were hard to come by. He may be the leader of one of the biggest intelligence organizations in the world, to her and Nat, he was just Nick Fury. A friend more than a boss. 

As soon as the elevator doors opened to reveal the big underground garage, Natasha was gone. If the doors had opened a little slower, the woman would have bumped her head with how rushed she was. 

The slick, black car was parked all the way in the back, Katya following Nat as best she could, almost having to run to keep up with her. When the blonde saw the Russian making her way to the driver's side, she was already shaking her head. Having the keys in her own hand, she was able to put up a fight. 

''Give me the keys,'' Natasha demanded, holding her hand up to catch them.

Shaking her head confidently, Katya refused to let go of the controls. ''You're not driving in this state.''

''Damn it Katya! Give me the keys.''

Clenching her jaw and straightening her back, Katya showed that there was no room for arguing on her side. Yelling to her only made it worse instead of better. ''No. You can get in the passenger's seat yourself or I can drag you in there.''

A very dangerous growl left Natasha's lips and for a second the other spy thought she was going to put up an even bigger fight, but knowing they had no time to waste, she actually walked around the front of the car and promptly stood next to the passenger's seat door. 

Without another word, Katya opened the car and jumped in the driver's seat, firing up the engine. Katya wasn't a pro by any means. She didn't drive dangerously, but it was on the limit. Speeding through traffic, ignoring multiple red lights and almost running over some bikers, Katya tried to make her way to the hospital as fast as she could.

After a couple minutes of tense silence, with Natasha's angry scowl slowly turning into a worried and anxiety-filled frown, the woman next to Katya actually spoke up. ''With your driving, it would have been safer if I had been behind that wheel.'' This was Natasha's way of saying sorry for yelling at Katya. You had to read between the lines, but it was there.

A small smile tugged at the corners of Katya's mouth. ''Shut up, Red.'' Katya flickered her blue eyes to her for a second, but it was enough to see how anxious and stressed she was. Natasha's steady hands never shook, but right now, it was as if an earthquake was happening within her fingers. She tried to hide it as best she could, clenching her hands together, but it was of no use. 

Actually daring to let go of the steering wheel with her right hand, she wrapped it around the ball of shaking fingers that were Natasha's hands to try and relax them. ''It will be okay. Fury's a tough basterd.''

The spy only nodded, her red, shiny hair bouncing back and forth. The smile she tried to summon didn't quite make it into a believable one, but the effort was there. ''He's one of those people that you believe is unkillable. Like he would just always be here. Sometimes you forget he's actually a normal human being who can be stupid and get himself shot.'' Her voice shook a little at the end, the emotion influencing it. 

''I know what you mean. The man feels like a higher power sometimes.''

''A stupid, idiotic higher power then.''

An airy laugh filled the car, relieving the tension a little. ''Very stupid.'' They were both trying to deal with this situation by making jokes, but it was just to cover up the real concern and anxiety they were feeling right now. Normally, Katya wouldn't go along with it if it was only Nat stressing, but now the blonde was just as bad, needing a change of heart to make sure she didn't suffer a panic attack behind this wheel. 

After a ten minute ride which should have been fifteen if driven at the speed limit and stopping at the red lights, the hospital finally came into view. Having shit on the rules at the moment, Katya sped up to the main entrance and braked hard, stopping the car in the middle of the driveway, right in front of the door. The car barely stood still when Nat was already out the door. Jamming the vehicle in park, Katya slammed the door behind her and jogged after her girlfriend, who had already passed the front door. 

Having no patience for the elevator, both women took the stairs two at a time, running to make it to the surgery as soon as possible. Blue and green eyes looked frantically for surgery room two, pushing people out of their way as they speed-walked through the long corridors.

Finally, a small sign on the ceiling pointed them to it, a viewing room usually only available for medical students to observe and learn from an operation. Two SHIELD Agents stood posted on either side of the door, stern looks on their faces turning into pure fear when they saw two very dangerously looking stressed women coming their way. They knew better than to try and stop a very worried Natasha, who would snap immediately when interfered right now. 

Storming through the door, they saw Rogers already watching the doctors operate on Nick from behind glass. The man who always looked so strong, now looked fragile, laying there on the table with his chest cut open. 

Tasha tried to put up a strong attitude for Steve, who didn't even pay attention when she came barging in, Katya on her heels. The redhead's mouth opened in shock at seeing her friend on the table, but closed it immediately, pushing everything she was feeling down.

''Is he gonna make it?'' She softly asked Rogers, who stared through the glass intently. 

''I don't know.'' He admitted.

''Tell us about the shooter,'' Katya demanded from Natasha's other side, almost a whisper because she was so focused on Nick, watching as the doctors rushed to remove the bullets and stitch the Director back up. If somebody was able to shoot Nick Fury, he or she was seriously good. 

''He's fast, strong.'' The man paused a second, like he wasn't sure if to say whatever he wanted to say next. ''Had a metal arm.''

Katya's breath hitched in her throat, her heart stopped. A guy with a metal arm? It couldn't be...

If this was any other situation, Natasha would have sensed the blonde next to her freezing in shock. But this wasn't any other situation. This was their friend dying right in front of their eyes while doctors tried desperately to keep his heart beating.

She was so lost in her thoughts that she jumped when Maria Hill entered the room they were in. Katya never jumped. Nothing and nobody could sneak up to her except Nat, something she purposely did from time to time to tease her. Katya was always and everywhere focusing on her environment. Looking for any threats and dangers.

The brunette woman stood next to the blonde, also not glancing in their way. 

''Ballistics?'' Natasha asked her, not having to look to her left to see who it was. While she may not have sensed Katya's mood, Katya was completely aware of the spy freezing next to her at the same time she did. Natasha knew something, suspected something, the question towards Maria was to confirm her suspicions.

''Three slugs, no rifling. Completely untraceable.'' Maria's voice was toneless, worried.

''Soviet-made,'' Natasha breathed at the same time as Katya whispered the word ''HYDRA.'' Katya was glad the Russian's voice drowned out her own, because she didn't feel like explaining how she knew it was HYDRA.

Surprised, Hill turned to Nat, ''Yeah.'' She wanted to say more, but a sudden change at the scene in front of them turned everyone's attention back to it. A machine started beeping so loudly, that the four   
SHIELD agents could hear it from where they stood. Male and female nurses started running around, rushing to help Fury. 

Even if they didn't hear what they were saying, Katya knew it was trouble. A machine even Katya knew was a defibrillator, was rolled towards the head doctor. 

''Don't do this to me, Nick,'' Natasha mumbled to herself. Katya subconsciously reached out and found her hand, Natasha squeezing it so tightly that the circulation in her fingers would probably be cut   
off. 

''Come on, come on,'' Katya whispered when the doctor placed the two pads on Nick's chest and an electrical shock ran through his body to start his heart again. Her blue eyes burned holes in the heart monitor, the line staying flat.

Turning up the voltage, the man tried again. But again: no reaction on the monitor telling them if Fury was alive or not. ''No, no, no, no,'' Katya muttered under her breath when the nurses seemed to give up, all hope at reviving the Director lost. 

At the same time, Natasha chanted the same words over and over again softly, almost like a prayer. ''Don't do this to me, Nick. Don't do this to me.''

The man's death would mean the woman had lost the one person who gave her life purpose again. Without Fury, who knows what she would have become? Who she would have become? Maybe she would have always stayed the killer she was made to be, like Katya was. Drowning in the blood of their victims. 

Tears formed in her eyes when all the nurses and doctors in the room stood back, bowing their head in loss. Everyone next to Katya knew what this meant. They had lost the one person everyone admired. A friend, family. 

In the reflection of the window, she could see Nat blinking furiously, trying to hold back the tears threatening to spill out. Steve had already turned around, no longer able to watch the scene. Maria turned around and walked out, probably to cry in private somewhere, not wanting to let her guard down around other people. 

But Nat didn't move, she just stood there, staring at her friend. So Katya stood there too, her thumb rubbing small circles on her girlfriends hand to let her know she was here and it was okay to cry. She didn't though, still keeping up the facade for everyone. 

After a long wait, Fury was rolled out of the operating room and Maria came back to tell them they could say goodbye. The brunette had a very different look on her face, the same one Natasha put on the minute she turned away from the glass. This was a 'I'm completely fine but inside I'm not'-look.

What Katya expected, happened, when a hand slipped out of her own rather roughly and the redhead stalked out after Maria, leaving Katya behind to sigh and follow. Nat didn't know how to handle grief, feelings, and if she didn't know, she pushed everyone away to make sure they didn't see how much she was really hurting and struggling.


	29. Accusations

Natasha was already standing next to Fury's head when Katya entered. Steve leaned against the wall behind Nat, giving her some space. Katya stood next to the soldier, crossing her arms over her chest while her heart hurt for the woman she loved to much. 

She must be in so much pain right now, losing the one person who gave her a chance at a new life, which she accepted with both hands. What was SHIELD without Nick Fury? What were Katya and Nat without their boss, who always looked out for them a little bit more than everyone else. Who always made sure they would come back from a mission alive, no matter the cost. Personal or material. 

He really was the father they never had, someone who loved them and had his own weird way of showing it. Nick Fury was SHIELD. The heart between the heads.

Katya's eyes examined her girlfriend intently, trying to figure out what she was thinking. Her feet were placed firmly on the ground, a sign that she needed stability in order to stay upright. The muscles in her legs and back were rigid, the tension keeping the shaking at bay. The same could be said for her arms and hands, who clutched each other tightly in front of her chest. Her hair didn't move, which meant she wasn't speaking or mouthing words to herself or the man in front of her. 

She just stood there, staring at his lifeless face. Somehow that made it even worse than if she would have been crying and screaming. That would have torn Katya's heart apart, but somehow this hurt more. The woman completely shutting herself off from the world, crawling back behind those walls the blonde spend so much time trying to break down. Not demolish them with a hammer, but gently taking away one stone at a time. That was the only way to really get through to Natasha.

The tension in the room was so painful and awkward that Katya would have walked right back out if she wasn't here in the first place to keep a close eye on Nat to make sure she was okay. Steve didn't say anything, only adding to the awkwardness. 

While they got off to a good start, she felt the Captain had created some distance between him and the woman. He didn't hate her, but he didn't trust her. And that was something the man was big on. Not as big as Natasha. He probably trusted people faster and better, but he loved his trust. He liked to rely on people and he didn't know if he could with both Russian spies because he didn't know them and he never completely would. 

There would always be big parts neither Natasha or Katya would ever tell the soldier. Things they shared with no one but each other. Things he would never understand, not having lived through the things they have. Things only the most broken people understood.

Katya felt Maria before she walked in the room. Sneaking up on her wouldn't happen for a second time. The brunette shot Katya a very sad smile before mostly turning towards Nat. ''I need to take him.'' Her voice was soft and gentle, knowing Natasha was famous for her little outbursts when forced to do something she didn't want.

Katya's blue eyes flickered back to the redhead, who didn't move at all at Maria's words. She knew she had heard them, but leaving Nick in this room meant something more than just walking out. It meant he was really dead, never to be seen again.

Taking a few inaudible steps forward, Katya put a gentle hand on her girlfriend's shoulder, who startled at the touch. ''Talia,'' she whispered to her, trying to get her to let her friend go.

A tear fell down Natasha's cheek, a rare sight even for Katya, when she put her hand on Nick's head as a last goodbye before pushing past Katya without looking at her and storming out of the room. 

Steve immediately followed her out, before Katya could even react. ''Natasha!'' He called after her when she walked off with that determined walk of hers, clearly on a mission to find and kill whoever did this.

She turned around abruptly, angry at him about something. Her tears had completely disappeared, determination and anger being the two main emotions Katya saw on her face right now. ''Why was Fury in your apartment?'' The redhead demanded an answer out of Rogers, who knew he was screwed.

Even from behind him and without seeing his face, Katya could tell he was lying. The shrugging of his shoulders and his head shaking a little too fast told her that before the words even left his mouth, which only confirmed it. ''I don't know.''

Heavy footsteps behind Katya caught her attention, turning around to identify who they belonged to. ''Cap, they want you back at SHIELD.'' Uhg, Rumlow. What was he doing here? Probably investigating the Director's death.

The Captain was not happy to be interrupted, but being the gentleman he was, he told Rumlow to back off in a kind way. ''Yeah, give me a second.'' He really desperately wanted to finish this conversation with Nat, not wanting her to do anything stupid.

The man hadn't fully turned back around to the angry woman, when Rumlow spoke again in a tone that made Katya narrow her eyes at him. It was too pushy, too demanding. ''They want you now.''

''Okay.'' Steve sounded pissed now, wanting Rumlow to back off. 

All the while the two men's ego's battled, Natasha stared at Steve, reading him and waiting for her turn to speak again. When he finally turned back to her, she wasted no time smirking a knowing smile,   
''You're a terrible liar.'' He was.

Waiting for his reaction, that didn't come, her red hair swooped around while she turned. Away from Steve but more importantly, away from Katya. 

Katya understood Natasha needing some time to process everything, but just leaving without saying something was not an option. If Nat needed some time, she should tell her. 

Leaving the Captain to fend for himself, the blonde jogged to catch up with the spy, but before she could make it three steps, the woman she was following stopped, training her green eyes on Katya. ''You should go with him.'' She meant Steve, who still stood watching them, feeling no pressure to go back to SHIELD. 

''Nat, don't push me away.''

Natasha's jaw clenched, not wanting to hear this but wanting Katya to back off and let her go without protest. She temped to walk away again, but Katya caught her wrist before she could, spinning her back to face her. ''I know you need time, but just say you do.''

Her eyes narrowed het the blonde, anger that was caused because of her sadness and loss swirling around in them. Ripping her wrist free, she hissed in a low tone to not draw any attention, ''Just let me go, Katya.''

''Nat-''

''Go with him.'' And with that, she walked off, not looking back and Katya not stopping her again. There was no point in trying to argue with her like this. Her emotions were controlling her and she couldn't think straight, not seeing how much she was hurting her. 

Grumbling in anger and bawling her fists, she turned around to the still waiting Captain, who was clearly hiding something. Something she couldn't care less about in the moment, and stalked past him to Rumlow, not waiting for him to follow her. 

Katya felt Rumlow's dark eyes drill in to her skull as she passed him without saying anything, anger on her face, the Captain on her heels. 

''Let's go,'' Steve told Rumlow when he reached him.

''Yeah.''

Something weird was going on that Katya didn't feel like figuring out right now. All the emotions threatening to take her over were messing with her mind the way they did with Natasha's. Most prominent was anger. Anger at Natasha for shutting her out, anger at Fury for leaving them, anger at the world for messing with her head like this. The sadness was overpowered with it, suppressed by the powerful rage.

''S.T.R.I.K.E., move it out!'' Their leader ordered them, the men in helmets and thick vests standing in the hallway waiting for him and the Captain. Katya just crashed this party, but nobody told her to go, probably too afraid to tell her that.

The helicopter ride back to SHIELD was hell, to say the least. Katya was happy the vehicle was so loud, being able to dodge the questions Rogers undoubtedly had for her. Questions about what happened between her and Nat and why her hands were shaking with anger. 

His blue eyes glanced to her from time to time, but she just stared out the window, wondering where Nat was and what she was doing. 

Katya was the first out when the helicopter landed on SHIELD ground, waiting with her back turned to it for the rest to lead her to where they wanted her and the Captain. Rumlow told Steve to head to Director Pierce's office, while also subtly telling Katya to stay out of it, who didn't listen of course. 

So while she waited for Steve to change into his mission suit for some weird reason, she took a seat outside of the office and listened in to a conversation between the man himself and Sharon Carter. The Agent Steve thought was just a neighbor.

They were talking softly to try and keep the conversation between the two, but Katya heard it anyway. Sharon was feeling guilty for not being able to safe Fury's life, get there earlier. It wasn't her fault, of course, but if Katya were in her position, she would beat herself up over it too. 

The Captain's loud footsteps in the hallway caught their attention as well as Katya's, who didn't turn her head to look at him, but instead studied the way Sharon bowed her head in a gesture that looked a lot like shame. Like she was ashamed of lying to him for weeks.

''Captain Rogers,'' she greets him carefully while walking past.

''Neighbor,'' Steve replies coldly, which make Katya smile in amusement. 

''Ah, Captain,'' Pierce extended his hand for Steve to shake, completely ignoring Katya who stood up behind him, ''I'm Alexander Pierce.''

Steve grabbed his hand in a firm grip, shaking it quickly. ''Sir, it's an honor.'' His voice did not sound like he found it an honor. Man, this guy should really learn how to lie. He sucked at that. 

''The honor is mine, Captain. My father served in the hundred-and-first. Come in.'' He gestured to his office, stepping back so Rogers could pass him. Katya send him a sarcastic, fake smile when entering too, immediately popping down on the couch in the middle of the big office, the black leather squeaking as she sat down in it. 

Neither Pierce or Rogers paid any attention as her blue eyes followed their every move, looking for any signs of lies or other suspicious behavior. Pierce immediately stood out, his movements too calculated for this to be a casual conversation. She already knew Steve was hiding something, but he was a bad liar and she would figure him out later. Pierce, she had actually never spoken to directly. 

This was her chance to figure him out.

Steve stood in front of the couch next to Katya, not comfortable sitting down like her. Pierce had handed him a photograph of the man himself with Fury. Katya acted like it didn't affect her, but seeing Nick on that picture was a stab in her heart.

''That photo was taken five years after Nick and I met. When I was at State Department in Bogota.'' The Director shrugged of his jacket and started shifting through files on his desk, looking for something specific. ''ELN rebels took the embassy, and security got me out, but the rebels took hostages. Nick was deputy chief for the SHIELD station there.'' He found what he was looking for, holding a thick file and starting his walk towards the Captain, not even glancing in Katya's direction. 

''And he comes to me with a plan. He wants to storm the building through the sewers. I said, "No, we'll negotiate." Turned out the ELN didn't negotiate, so they put out a kill order. They stormed the basement, and what did they find? They find it empty.'' He stopped in front of the chair across from Katya and dropped the file down on the coffee table between them, taking a seat. Steve followed, mirroring the Director's movements to not tower over him and display any dominance. 

''Nick had ignored my direct order and carried out an unauthorized military operation on foreign soil. He saved the lives of a dozen political officers, including my daughter.''

Steve all but scoffed at his story, not understanding why this was important. ''So you gave him a promotion.''

Pierce smirked, ''I've never had any cause to regret it.'' Steve nodded, a little silence falling before the man continued, ''Captain, why was Nick in your apartment last night?''

O gosh, here it comes. Steve did his best to lie, trying all the tricks he had picked up from Tasha, but it was of no use. Even from five feet away, Katya could easily tell his lie. He acted like he was thinking about the answer, like he had to go back to that moment to try and figure it out. ''I don't know.''

Pierce didn't take it, seeing right through him. ''You know it was bugged?'' Oh, no. Not the bugging. Katya did her best to relax her muscles and not show that she knew more about that. That she was the one who bugged it.

''I did, because Nick told me.'' This time, he was telling the truth. When did Nick tell him that? Must have been last night, because the Captain hadn't confronted Katya this night. 

Pierce's eyes flickered to Katya for a second, who knew immediately what was coming next. Steve, not missing his movement, looked over to her too, before Pierce spoke the words Katya was dreading. ''Did he tell you he was the one who ordered Agent Petrova here to bug it?''

She had never seen someone turn their head around so fast, rage burning behind the normally soft blue eyes of the Captain. Katya shrugged casually. She had done it, yes, but it wasn't like she had a choice. It was an order and an order you cannot ignore. Besides, it was for Rogers' own protection and safety. It may be a breach of his privacy, but his safety was far more important than that. She knew he didn't feel the same way. For him, freedom was much more important than safety by watching everyone on Earth. Unfortunately, SHIELD cannot afford to think like that. They had lives to save.

Pierce, who had a tiny amused smile on his face because of the tension he just created between the two, broke the stare-off. ''I want you to see something.'' He pushed a button so behind Rogers on the large screen on the wall, a video started playing. Katya sat forward in her seat when she recognized the guy in it.

It was Batroc. The same man they had fought not even 48 hours ago. They had already captured him. That was too easy. Something was not right here. They had managed to capture him almost immediately after they had fought him and he had hijacked a SHIELD boat, but they couldn't find him for the last couple years?

Natasha was right, this whole mission smelled.

''Is that live?'' Rogers asked Pierce when he, too, saw who it was.

''Yeah, they picked him up last night in a not-so-safe house in Algiers.''

''Are you saying he's a suspect? Assassination isn't Batroc's line.'' Really, Rogers? The man was picked up in Algiers, which is almost the other side of the world from D.C., pretty soon after Fury was shot. Of course he isn't a suspect, because he can't be in two places at the same time.

''No, no, it's more complicated than that.'' Pierce finally touched the file he had grabbed earlier, flipping through the pages while finally coming to the point of this conversation. ''Batroc was hired anonymously to attack the Lemurian Star and he was contacted by e-mail and paid by wire transfer. And then the money was run through seventeen fictitious accounts,'' This finally grabbed Rogers attention, while Katya's mind was running on full speed to try and figure out what he was trying to say, ''the last one going to a holding company that was registered to a Jacob Veech.''

Who?

Captain looked confused too, grabbing the file to see for himself. ''Am I supposed to know who that is?''

''Not likely. Veech died six years ago. His last address was 1435 Elmhurst Drive. When I first met Nick his mother lived at 1437.''

Now she saw what he was doing here. He was trying to make Fury look guilty of hiring the pirates. Maybe Fury did hire the pirates. It made sense. Fury wanted information off the ship, giving Katya and Natasha a secret mission. To get them in without raising any suspicion, he rented a bunch of criminals to fake hijack the boat. But why? What was on that intel that got him killed?

She wished Nat was here right now. She was always the smarter one. The one who was the first to figure out secrets and patterns. She didn't come home the whole night, where did she go? Katya still had the car keys in her pocket of the jacket that smelled like Nat. 

Steve caught on to what Pierce wanted to say, too. ''Are you saying Fury hired the pirates? Why?'' He was pissed at Pierce for blaming Fury for the hijacking.

''The prevailing theory? Was that the hijacking was a cover for the acquisition and sale of classified intelligence. The sale went sour and that led to Nick's death.'' Steve did his best to act like he didn't know about the intel Katya and Natasha stole from the boat, while Katya did her best to prevent her fists from clenching. This man was accusing Fury of something he would never do. He loved SHIELD, he would never betray it.

''If you really knew Nick Fury you'd know that's not true.'' Steve secretly agreed with her thoughts.

Pierce nodded, satisfied with the reaction he got. ''Why do you think we're talking?'' Standing up, he walked to the big window in the office, overseeing a big part of the Capital. Steve immediately followed suit, his manners making him stand up too. Katya didn't care about manners, not now, not in this room. 

''See, I took a seat on the Council not because I wanted to but because Nick asked me to, because we were both realists. We knew that despite all the diplomacy and the handshaking and the rhetoric, that to build a really better world sometimes means having to tear the old one down.'' He turned around from the window, pausing for extra effect. Katya rolled her eyes at his theatrics. 

''And that makes enemies. Those people that call you dirty because you got the guts to stick your hands in the mud and try to build something better. And the idea that those people could be happy today, makes me really, really angry.'' 

He hesitates for a moment, coming to the end of his dramatic speech. ''Captain, you were the last one to see Nick alive. I don't think that's an accident, and I don't think you do either. So I'm gonna ask again, why was he there?''

Steve watched Pierce for a minute, doubting whether to give in or stay true to whatever Fury had told him in secret last night. He finally decided to give Pierce a half-truth, giving him just enough to get him to back off. ''He told me not to trust anyone.''

''I wonder if that included him.'' Steve thought about it, but stayed true to his old Director, trusting him despite all he kept from the soldier.

''I'm sorry. Those were his last words. Excuse me.'' He started to walk off, so Katya stood up quickly, not wanting to be left alone with the old man. Picking up his shield, he swung it over to his back before Pierce stopped him again. 

''Captain. Somebody murdered my friend and I'm gonna find out why. Anyone gets in my way, they're gonna regret it. Anyone.'' That was a threat. A threat Pierce was clearly comfortable making to the soldier, even with Katya there as a witness. 

Steve saw on the man's face he wasn't lying. ''Understood,'' he replied after a while, before pushing the door open and leaving the room. Katya was on his heels, throwing a glare in the Director's way before he was out of sight. She hated him, no idea why. Call it a gut feeling maybe?

He knew more about everything that had happened in the last two days. Everything had been crazy and Katya knew he had something to do with it. But what? That was a big question mark.


	30. Fights

Steve's heavy footsteps were followed by Katya's silent ones. The soldier leading them to the elevator. Now what? What was Katya going to do now? Without knowing where Natasha was, she didn't really know where to start her investigation. The fact that Katya already knew who had killed Fury and she suspected Nat did too, it wasn't of any use to try and find the guy. 

If the Winter Soldier didn't want to be found, you wouldn't find him. He found you. 

She was worried about Nat. The Russian was all kinds of upset after seeing Fury die in the hospital and left to do god knows what. With her being reckless at the same time, it didn't help calm Katya down. 

The only lead she had was the hospital, where she saw her last. Maybe Steve had any idea where they could start looking for her and the Winter Soldier?

Although the Captain didn't seem too keen on talking to Katya at the moment. Not that that surprised her. Pierce did just reveal she was the one who bugged his apartment before he moved in. Another lie she told him that could be added to the list.

Steve had pressed the button for the elevator and turned his back to the woman, staring out the floor-to-ceiling glass wall this building had a lot off. Katya wasn't planning on talking to him first. She had nothing to apologize for. So she waited to see what would come first: the elevator or an accusation from Steve. Turns out it was the latter, just before the doors in front of her opened.

''Were you ever going to tell me?'' Katya wasn't wrong about his love for privacy, he was really pissed. The soldier marched to the open doors, finding the same place along the glass wall, staring outside. He wasn't even able to look at her.

Katya followed him silently, leaning against the railing to the side and staring at the soldier's form. ''Probably not, no,'' she admitted honestly. No reason to lie now.

''Why did you do it? I mean, I know why Fury would want my apartment bugged. I don't approve, but I get his point.'' He turned around to look her in the eyes, hoping to see if she was lying or not. ''But you, don't you have any sense of privacy?''

Katya shrugged her shoulders. ''I don't know what you want to hear, but a sorry isn't what you're going to get from me. I was just following orders. You're a soldier, you should understand that.''

He scoffed, returning his attention to the scene outside. Almost half of D.C. could be seen from so high up. ''That's easy, you just hide behind Fury.''

She was pissed now too. You could say what you want about her, but she's not one to hide behind anyone. Certainly not on this topic. ''I'm not hiding behind anyone, Rogers. I don't understand why you're so upset. This is an intelligence organization, privacy doesn't exist here. Or in the rest of the world for that matter. You've seen Project Insight. This is the twenty-first century, not the forties.''

The conversation was heated now, both agents having an angry scowl on their faces, raising their voices. Steve pushed away from the railing and took a step closer to Katya, hoping to intimidate her. ''Yeah? Well maybe it should be. Like I told Fury: Project Insight isn't freedom, it's fear. And I will not be part of something like that.''

A scoff followed his statement. ''Pay attention Rogers, you're already part of that. You've been part of that since you joined here two years ago.''

Realization filled his eyes, with maybe a little bit of shame too, but he did it well behind the anger. Not well enough for Katya though. ''Then maybe it's time for me to move on.''

''Maybe it is.''

The elevator had stopped while they were arguing, and the doors opened just after Katya had said the last words. The thick tension in the elevator caused the first person to walk in to frown, which was, unfortunately, Rumlow. Man, she just dumped him before meeting Pierce and here he was again. You just couldn't get rid of this guy, could you?

''Forensics,'' he ordered the elevator, which answered with a confirmation.

He only then seemed to notice the two people already inside, nodding to the Captain before looking at Katya, who was deeply confused as to why he was suddenly being so nice to her. ''Petrova,'' he greeted her, which she didn't reply to at all.

He waited a while to say the next thing, turning around from facing the two other members of his S.T.R.I.K.E. team who came in with him. ''Cap, Evidence Response found some fibers on the roof they want us to see. You want me to get the tac-team ready?'' The way he said it caused Katya to narrow her eyes at the back of his head. His words were rushed and his breath was high in his throat. He was nervous.

Steve didn't notice, he was probably used to people getting starstruck around him. ''No, let’s wait and see what it is first,'' the soldier replied casually, staring at the floor. 

''Right.'' Something was definitely wrong. Rumlow was visibly nervous, the word coming out in almost a breath. Steve finally noticed too, looking up with furrowed brows. That only became worse when he saw the two other agents resting their hands on the guns around their leg. It wasn't a natural position for your arm to rest in. The guns were a little lower than your fingers, you had to drop your shoulder down maybe an inch to fully grab the gun. Nobody stood in that position for fun. 

Katya's hand slowly went behind her back, where a knife was always placed in her belt under her jacket. Something was wrong here and it made her feel uneasy. 

To make things worse, the elevator stopped moving for the second time, four more men walking in. These held briefcases, but weren't less built to fight than Rumlow's men. These were all fighters. 

They pushed Katya in the corner of the tiny room, trying to block her view. The Captain had to move when one of the men wanted to stand at the railing, probably to hold on to it. So Rogers found himself in the middle of the elevator, men all around him.

Katya did not feel comfortable in the corner like this. She was limited in her flight options, only being able to move forwards or to the right. Steve may not like her at the moment, but he was strong and an ally in battle. So she rudely pushed her way through the men, them not even daring to say something to her or give a dirty look, and stood next to Rogers. He glanced at her carefully, not wanting to draw attention, and saw she felt the same way as he did. Their fight from a minute ago pushed aside for now, as they both dealt with the same threat.

''I'm sorry about what happened with Fury. Messed up, what happened to him.'' Rumlow spoke from in front of them, avoiding eye contact by not turning his head enough.

Steve acted like nothing was wrong, hoping to delay the inevitable a little longer. If only they could get out of this elevator right now. ''Thank you.''

The man Katya so rudely pushed aside before, was sweating from beside her. Big drops of sweat clearly visible on his forehead, making their way down to his neck. Her fingers had wrapped themselves around her knife. It may not be a big one, but it could do just as much damage if she wanted it to. But did she? These were SHIELD agents, just like her. And why were they going to attack them?

Did she do something wrong? Did she know something she shouldn't have? The first thing that came into mind was the mission from two days ago, the secret intel they had gathered. But she had never seen anything that was on it. And then there was Pierce, who obviously knew something as well. About Fury's death, about the mission. Somehow, Fury was connected to all this, his death wasn't random. 

Maybe Natasha had figured it out.

Three more bulky men stepped into the elevator, making it really crowded. There was almost no room to move and it was surprising the structure could hold this much muscle. 

Steve took a deep breath after the doors closed for the final time, straightening his back as Katya slowly moved her arm down to be ready for the fight herself. Right now, it didn't matter why they were being attacked. What mattered was they made it out alive. Preferably without any scratches, although that was going to be difficult. It was ten against two. Steve counted for four maybe, with his strength, but Katya could only hope to take down some herself.

''Before we get started, does anyone want to get out?''

There is the smallest moment of pause, when nobody moves or breathes. It didn't give Katya any hope that nothing was wrong, it just made her get into her fight-mode even more. 

Suddenly, the guy in front of Rogers whipped out his electric rod and used it to shock the Captain. He backed up to the wall, all agents in the room diving on him, trying to restrain him. Katya was pushed to him as they all moved in on them. Not liking this, she stabbed the first agent in his shoulder with her knife, before knocking him out cold, his body dropping to the floor. This would be so much easier if she could just kill them all. 

The elevator jerked to a stop as Steve slammed the emergency button. One of the agents had managed to push some kind of magnetic restraint around Rogers' wrist and three men were trying to push his arm against the steel wall of the elevator. Katya had no idea what kind of strong magnets that must be, because the Captain was seriously struggling against them. Thinking she needed him if she wanted to win this fight, she threw her knife in one of the men's arms, making him lose his grip on Steve's. 

Nobody had counted on Katya being here, so they were all too focused on taking out the Captain that she could move around quite easily. Knocking another Agent out before retrieving her knife, she used it to slash another arm, the blood pouring out the wound. Holding the guy in a headlock, he slowly passed out too. Maybe this wasn't as difficult as they thought it would be?

The Captain, now having lost the pressure on his arm, could rip away from the wall and punch and kick some guys off of him. Katya caught the ones coming her way, simply taking them out with a punch to the throat or the jaw or knocking their heads into the steel wall of the elevator. Just when things were looking up, Rumlow got up too, quickly kicking Rogers' arm to the wall at last.

A loud cling told her that it was stuck on good. Some of SHIELD's best engineers must have designed this. Steve desperately tried to get his hand free, but it was of no use. Katya dived for Rumlow when he grabbed his electric stick, wanting to electrocute the Captain. She got her knife in his upper arm, but he was quick to retaliate, elbowing her in the ribs. That was going to be a nice bruise. 

Katya stumbled back, the wind knocked out of her for a second, giving Rumlow just enough time to electrocute Steve. The Captain suffered for a second, before gaining the strength to kick Rumlow and another Agent left standing, away. 

After she had regained the air in her lungs, Katya grabbed an electric rod from one of the passed out agents on the floor and used it to take out two men, enjoying their squirms and groans as she did so.   
Steve had finally gotten himself free from the wall, taking down the last Agent beside Rumlow, before turning to the man himself. He certainly regretted it now, trying to pick a fight with Captain America. 

Even Katya wasn't that stupid. 

Holding two sticks in front of his body to protect himself, he stopped for a minute, trying to gain his breath. Katya wanted to march over and stick her knife in his chest, but the chance of her getting electrocuted were high, and from what she had experienced from Nat's Widow Bites, electrocution sucks.

''Whoa, big guy. I just want you to know, Cap, this ain't personal.'' Rumlow charged for him, managing to hit him twice, before Steve hit his jaw, making him stumble forwards. Grabbing his shoulders, the Captain threw him against the ceiling, his back hitting it hard, before he fell back down. Well, he was definitely out now.

Steve panted as he looked down to the man, while Katya just smirked silently, enjoying this. It sucked that she wasn't the one to take him out, but this was way better than just stabbing him. 

The shield he had lost earlier lay at his feet, so Steve stepped on it and caught it easily, breaking the restraint around his wrist before opening the doors. ''No, wait-'' Katya wanted to warn him not to open it. While they may have taken out the agents in the elevator, the whole building held hundreds more of them. 

She was proven to be right as a dozen soldiers in black armor pointed heavy guns at the two people who weren't supposed to come out alive. ''Drop the shield! Put your hands in the air!'' One of them yelled. But Steve wasn't someone to give in easily.

Her body fell against the wall as the elevator suddenly made a free fall, Katya's stomach filling with an uncomfortable feeling. They weren't going to drop to their death, the elevator had an automatic stop in case the cables ever broke, something the Captain just did with his shield. On free will.

Katya had no control, that is what scared her. They were in a metal box, dropping down god knows how many feet without insurance the thing would stop. Who knew what Steve had broken with his little maneuver.

The elevator abruptly came to a stop, causing Katya to fall on her butt. She was still getting up when Rogers had already moved to open the doors again. Had he learned nothing from literally ten seconds before? There was no way out of this and he realized that too as more soldiers advanced on their position. ''Give it up, Rogers! Get that door open! You have nowhere to go!'' They yelled while pounding on the door. 

Katya felt trapped and helpless. They were stuck here, dozens of feet in the air, with no way out but to be taken captive. And for what? The question mark got bigger and bigger by the second. 

But it turned into a panicked exclamation mark the second she saw Steve looking out the window, to the building below. The foyer of SHIELD HQ had a beautiful glass roof, letting in a lot of light to the enormous space below, where a large SHIELD logo stood proudly in the middle of it. 

Katya hated the logo, it was too prominent and placed there only as a way of showing off. It was a good thing she almost never saw it. There was no reason for her to be in the foyer. Living in the building caused her to only leave and enter through the backdoors this facility had more off than most people knew.

''No,'' she said sternly as she understood what the soldier wanted to do. A fall from this height would mean a very painful death. And while she may not have cared about that a couple years ago, she now had something and someone to live for. Jumping out of that window was the end of her.

Steve moved to her, trying to put his arm around her waist while fastening his grip on the shield with his other hand. ''There's no time, Katya,'' he hissed when his arm was pushed away.

''We'll die.''

''It will be fine.''

The pounding on the door only got harder and harder and the sounds of more footsteps filled the hall behind the doors. They were out of time and jumping out was really the only option. ''Fine, but you get to explain this to Nat if I die.''

He wasted no more time gathering Katya in his arm, holding her close to his body. She tried her best not to cringe too much at his touch and keep her face natural. She needed him to make it out alive, she could deal being touched by someone she didn't want to touch her for a minute.

Captain prepared himself to jump, taking a few steps back and inhaling deeply. Katya prayed to the god she didn't believe in and begged him to take her out alive. Suddenly, he ran forward, taking big steps before holding his shield in front of their faces. Despite her wanting him not so close to her, Katya found herself pressing her body further into his. It wasn't a nice feeling, but staying alive is what mattered now. 

They fell for what felt like hours, when in reality, it was only a couple seconds. The wind tugged at her loose hair, the blonde strands getting in her face. It was also the only sound she heard, besides the glass falling down the wall of the building. It was quite peaceful actually, if they weren't falling to their deaths.

The shield hit the glass roof of the foyer with a loud bang and it wasn't long before people started yelling. What else would you do when two people suddenly fell through the roof of a building?

Despite Steve not liking her at the moment, he made sure he caught most of the fall, which she greatly appreciated. Their bodies smacked on the ground, the air leaving Katya's lungs for the second time in a couple minutes. Her head hit the Captain's shoulder, leaving what would be a nasty bump on her scalp and her shoulder screamed out in pain. It was, of course, the one they fell on, when wouldn't it be. 

This was something more than all the times it hurt before. This was a shoulder that hadn't just received a small blow. No, this one caught a ten story fall from a building. This was a shoulder that would need some serious fixing after this. Her pills were in her room, no way of getting them. So she pushed back the pain-driven tears in her eyes and held her shoulder as she quickly got away from the man who just saved her life by risking it. 

He groaned a little before pushing his body up from the ground and running off, Katya following him out of the building. It was immediately clear where he was going, the signs on the walls didn't need to tell her that. He was going for his motorcycle. It was predictable, but the fastest way out. The bridge was easy to close off, but she figured they were still in time to make it out.

There was no time to waste if they wanted to get out of here now, before S.T.R.I.K.E. found them again. Probably her whole body would hurt tomorrow, with large purple bruises covering the left side of her body, but she was still alive and that is what mattered.


	31. Running

Her shoulder throbbed as Katya did her best to hold on to Rogers, who raced to make the bridge on his motorcycle before they closed it down. ''Hold on!'' He yelled over the wind. Katya couldn't see over his broad shoulders why she would have to hold on, but didn't second guess his orders. And it was a good thing she didn't, because next thing she knew, the motorcycle was flying through the air. 

It jumped between two closing doors, which crashed together with a loud blow right after they made it through. This was by far going to be the most dangerous ride she will ever be on. And that says a lot when you've been in cars and on motorcycles with Natasha.

Steve didn't slow down as they headed for the next obstacle on the bridge. Nasty spikes raised from the ground to puncture even the thickest tires and steel gates not even a fully loaded truck could break. It was no option this time to jump the spikes. The gate would catch them. 

To make matters worse, a Quinjet flew in from behind them, turning to face the two fleeing agents. ''Stand down, Captain Rogers. Stand down.'' The voice of a pilot spoke over the speakers. They even went so far as loading and aiming the large guns the jet had on board, ready to blow them to bits if the Captain didn't stop this vehicle right now. 

Were they really ready to kill him? They would kill her without a second thought, but him? Captain America? Surely they had to come up with some kind of explanation to the world. How the hell were you going to tell people that the organization Rogers worked for, had to kill him themselves? 

Pierce had made it clear in his office that he was ready to kill the Captain if he stood in the way of the investigation regarding Fury's death, but they hadn't even done anything yet. They didn't know anything. Well, Rogers didn't know anything. Katya had figured out immediately who killed her boss, but Pierce didn't know that. Why were they killing them?

Steve didn't slow down at the threat of getting blown to pieces, he just kept racing. ''Repeat, stand down.'' Final warning, but he still didn't slow down. Katya had more and more trouble ignoring the screaming pain in her left shoulder. Her right hand was holding on to Rogers for dear life, because her left hand kept slipping away. There was no strength in it at all.

At that moment, the Quinjet starts firing. Steve swayed from left to right to avoid the spray of bullets coming in their direction. Speed was their only friend at the moment. Because of the heaviness and power of the gun, it was slow and couldn't track quick movements. They all hit the pavement around the wheels, pieces breaking off and flying everywhere.

How where they going to make it off this bridge alive? It was just like the elevator: only a risky and stupid move could get them out. And Steve seemed to have that move prepared in his head. Grabbing his shield, he threw it with one fluid move straight into the left propeller of the jet. It got stuck, causing the hyper modern engine to stop moving. 

''Jump!'' Katya heard Rogers yell over his shoulder to her. Not having any better ideas, she did as he asked, rolling her body as she hit the ground to slow herself down. No time to see where the Captain had gone, no time to figure out if the jet was taken care off, but the explosions above her head told her enough. 

The blonde spy ran the last few feet to the spikes and gate on the bridge. While they may be insurmountable when driving a vehicle, on your feet, they were easy to cross. Keeping a close eye on the wobbling and crashing jet above her, she didn't want it coming down on her head, Katya zigzagged her way through the spikes and crawled under the gate. 

Steve landed in front of her, falling from the air for the second time today. He looked back satisfied as the jet crashed on the other side of the gate before his feet took off again. 

Katya was in pain and panting from the running and jumping they had done, but ran after the Captain anyway. Apparently, he knew where he was going. And because she had no idea where to go, she followed him.

But as soon as she saw a familiar part of the city come closer and closer, she called out to him. Because he was faster, even faster now with the pain influencing Katya's ability to use her body normally, he ran in front of her the whole way. That he didn't run on full speed was obvious. She would have never been able to keep up with him if he did. ''We can't go to your apartment! It's the first place they'll look!'' She hissed at him in the quiet neighborhood.

''We need new clothes,'' Steve replied, not even looking at her. He was right, Katya had already seen the few people they had passed stare at his Captain America suit. He stood out like a sore thumb and it would be the reason they were caught before they could get to the hospital, which was undoubtedly their next step.

''We can steal some!'' But that was the wrong thing to say. This was Captain America who she was talking to, after all. And the disapproving look on his face told her what he was thinking without him needing to say it. ''In and out, make it quick,'' Katya finally gave in when they reached his apartment building. She stopped to wait in front of the building, staying on lookout in case they found them that quickly.

''Hand me your jacket,'' Steve said before stepping through the door. 

Katya looked down at the black leather jacket she threw on last night and was still wearing. ''It's Nat's,'' she refused, shaking her head. It wasn't hers to give away.

Steve held in his sigh. He would never understand those two. ''I'm sure she'll understand. Now hand it over, we don't have time for this.''

Reluctantly, the jacket slipped from her shoulders and Steve took it immediately before disappearing inside the building. Katya would have preferred to change her pants and shoes too, but the Captain obviously didn't have any clothes that would fit her. Unless he had had some secret dates she didn't know about. Although that was very unlikely, Rogers was an old-fashioned man.

Katya disappeared into the shadows of the building, keeping her head low and scanning every person and vehicle entering the street with her blue eyes. The quiet of the neighborhood put her more on edge than if it were busy. There was no way to blend in with the crowd or disappear in traffic. Nothing suspicious came her way though. Just a woman talking on the phone loudly and a man with a child on his arm. They were both too busy with themselves to notice her.

The door next to her opened just enough for Steve to slip through. He pushed a grey bundle of fabric in her hands and walked past her without another word. Her feet followed him on their own, as her hands unfolded the piece of clothing he brought her. It was an hoodie, a simple, plain, grey hoodie. It was too big on her, but not as big as she had expected. 

His smell hit her immediately and she couldn't exactly say she was happy with that. Not that he smelled bad, she just rather had Nat's perfume in her nose the whole day. She pulled up the hood anyway to cover her blonde hair and face from some angles. 

Steve was full of surprises today, when he stopped next to a big truck parked along the road. She saw immediately why. It wasn't locked. The little pins on the inside of the window were up, signaling an easy steal. His blue eyes shot back and forth through the empty street and when he was sure nobody saw anything, he nonchalantly opened the driver's seat door and got in. Katya wasted no time to follow him into the car, dropping her body into the seat next to him. 

''Do you even know how to hotwire a car?'' She asked with amusement in her voice as she saw the Captain fiddle with the wires under the steering wheel. Katya had become a master in hotwiring any piece of transport. A car, a motorcycle, a truck, you name it. They all worked the same if you knew which wires to cut and which to connect.

''I did,'' he mumbled, concentrated more on the wires than her question.

''You did? You're telling me you're trying to hotwire this twenty-first century car with forties' knowledge?''

He didn't answer, which told her enough. Katya wanted to reach out and push his hands away to do it herself, but a big painshot ran down her arm as she moved it. Right, left shoulder still hurt. Steve saw her flinch from the corner of his eye and his face turned a little softer. Uhg, pity. She hated pity. ''I got this,'' he reassured her. And he was right as the engine came to life at the third attempt.

Natasha would have thrown her an 'I-told-you-so'-look and raise her eyebrows, but Steve wasn't one to do that. He liked proving people wrong, but he didn't brag when he indeed did.

He put on his seatbelt, told Katya to do that too when he saw she didn't already and then shook his head in disappointment when she told him she might need to get out quickly and therefore wouldn't wear one. She knew it was possible with Steve's driving. She wouldn't be thrown around in her seat. With Nat, she needed the seatbelt sometimes to not get thrown out. Not that it wasn't the same the other way around. Katya was a really bad driver.

Steve drove torturously slow through the city, keeping under the speed limit and stopping at every little thing. At first she kept her irritations inside, knowing this was just who the Captain was. But after a   
while, the pressure of being on the run and getting to the hospital as quick as possible opened her mouth anyway. ''If you keep driving like a grandma, they'll catch us before you can make the hospital.''

One eyebrow raised on the face of the man sitting next to her. ''How did you know we were going there?''

''Eh, first, I'm not blind. I can read the signs you've been following for the last ten minutes. Second, you probably left something there or know that's where we have to start, because you've been hiding something since we met you there last night. Third, it's probably where Nat will be, having figured out the same thing I have, and we need her.''

''You got all that in ten minutes?'' He sounded really impressed, which once again proved how much he underestimated her. 

She scoffed. ''I got all that as soon as we left Pierce's office.''

That ended the conversation. Steve getting lost in his thoughts and Katya scanning the traffic around them to make sure they were still good. She knew what to look for. Which vehicles belonged to SHIELD, even the undercover ones. But they made it to the hospital without any trouble, Steve parking the car neatly between two other trucks to hide it as best he could.

Katya climbed out, checking to make sure the hoodie still covered her head and waited for her colleague to lead her where he wanted them. She wasn't surprised when they ended up on the same floor Fury had died on. 

She hated hospitals. The smell, the blinding whiteness, the faint smell of death. Could be her but she felt the dead all around her when entering here. The same as if you were walking into a haunted house or cemetery. You could just feel you were not alone.

Her body almost bumped into Steve when he stopped in front of a vending machine. She was so busy making sure nobody noticed them, that she hadn't paid attention to him. 

His eyes seemed to look for something, a specific product in the machine, and they turned big in shock when he didn't found what he was looking for. But Katya almost didn't see that, she was way too occupied with the person suddenly appearing behind them, as out of thin air. Unable to suppress the smirk on her face, she took in the reflection of Natasha chewing some gum and blowing a bubble before popping it. All while having the most nonchalant and casual expression on her face. 

While Katya was still pissed at her for pushing her away, but how could you stay mad at her for long? Natasha didn't mean to push her away, it was just an automatic response to being in pain. Besides, look at that face. She looked like an adorable child blowing those bubbles. An adorable hot child. Her heart made that same stupid jump it always did when she saw her girlfriend. 

Steve stared at the woman behind him for a second in the glass, apparently putting two and two together. When he finally did, he turned around so quickly he was almost a blur and angrily pushed Natasha backwards into an empty room. Katya followed quickly after making sure nobody in the hallway had seen it and closed the door behind her, looking up just in time to see Steve push the woman into the wall.

He was so angry, his back muscles displayed it visibly as he towered over Nat, wanting to intimidate her. But Natasha was not easily intimidated, especially by Steve. So she just had a ghost of an amused smile on her lips as he pushed her back to the wall roughly, a little grunt escaping her lips.

While this was all very beautiful to see, Katya didn't like how he handled her so roughly. His hands held her upper arms so tightly that Katya could see from afar that it hurt Natasha.

''Where is it?'' Steve demanded, getting close to her face.

''Safe,'' Natasha replied immediately. What was this about?

''Do better!''

''Where did you get it?''

''Why would I tell you?'' Rogers would never win this fight. Natasha was an expert in dodging questions she didn't want to answer and could set a questioning to her hand easily. That's exactly what she was doing now.

Even though she knew Nat could handle herself, Katya stepped in anyway, squeezing her body between the two bickering agents and pushing Steve away with her only usable arm. ''As much as I like this, I'm the only one who gets to push Nat against a wall.''

In other circumstances, Natasha would have chuckled or at least smiled, but she was too occupied with Steve, who had a disgusted look on his face at the image he just received because of Katya's remark. 

With Steve now being an acceptable distance away, Katya stepped back too, so she could look at the both of them. ''Will anybody please clue me in as to what's going on here?''

Natasha spoke without looking at her, still staring at the man's blue eyes as if it held every secret he was hiding. ''Steve had the stick with the intel we stole from the boat. Tried to hide it here in the machine to keep it out of SHIELD hands.''

Katya's eyes flickered from Nat to Steve. ''What? Where did you get that USB?''

He kept quiet just like before, when Natasha had questioned him. That was when the redhead finally put it together. ''Fury gave it to you,'' the realization dawned on her. ''Why?''

That didn't make any sense. Why would Fury give this to Steve? Why was Fury in Steve's apartment anyway last night? 

It didn't get any clearer when the man dodged the question fired at him by Nat and countered with his own. ''What's on it?''

''I don't know.''

''Stop lying!'' The Captain hissed angrily, taking a step forward again. Apparently he thought that everything coming out of her mouth were lies. 

Trough gritted teeth, Katya stepped in front of him again. ''Back off, Rogers. We only act like we know everything.'' You couldn't get Katya angry quick and there were not many ways to get under her skin, but threatening her girlfriend was one of the things that could.

He finally realized he was talking to the two of them and not just Nat. Whatever Natasha knew about this, Katya knew too. So he stepped back and turned his head from left to right to look at the both of them. ''I bet you knew Fury hired the pirates, didn't you?''

This was the first time Katya really thought about this. Pierce had suggested the option, but because it came out of his mouth, she hadn't believed him. But now... It was very convenient that Fury needed intel and suddenly a mission popped up that gave them that opportunity. Maybe it was true, but then what intel would be worth it to take such a big risk?

Natasha's big eyes revealed she had figured out the same. ''Well, it makes sense. The ship was dirty, Fury needed a way in, so do you.''

''I'm not gonna ask you again.''

He was getting impatient so Katya finally said the words she had been wanting to say all night. ''I know who killed Fury. Most of the intelligence community doesn't believe he exists, the ones who do call him the Winter Soldier. He's credited with over two dozen assassinations in the last fifty years. Not as many as I had, but that's beside the point.'' 

The people in front of her turned as she spoke, Steve interested in her story and maybe a little shocked she had known for so long. Natasha just stared at her knowingly. Just like Katya had suspected, she knew too.

''So he's a ghost story,'' Steve said after he had heard her story.

''It's one hell of a story, but he's definitely not a ghost. He is HYDRA, that's how I know him. Went on a mission with the guy once. He's reckless, even more than Nat, incredibly strong and fast and has no value of human life. He kills because it's easy and doesn't have a stop-button. When I tell you the guy's dangerous, he's dangerous.''

They both listened in silence and with interest. Katya had never told Natasha this story, because the man had never come up. So this was new even for her. Although she had probably guessed they worked together, since they both worked for HYDRA.

Steve wasn't convinced at Katya's story and looked to Natasha for confirmation or anything that would tell him it was all true. ''She's not lying. Five years ago I was escorting a nuclear engineer out of Iran, somebody shot out my tires near Odessa. We lost control, went straight over a cliff, I pulled us out, but the Winter Soldier was there. I was covering my engineer, so he shot him straight through me.'' Natasha pulls up her shirt to show him the scar on her stomach. ''Soviet slug, no rifling. Bye-bye bikinis.''

Katya could remember that mission in great detail. Even though she hadn't been there, the stress and worry of seeing her in so much pain and covered in so much blood sat fresh in her mind. It had been a solo mission for Natasha, which Katya didn't like. Nobody there to watch her back. And she had come back early with a nasty gunshot wound in her stomach. It was shot straight through, and didn't miss a couple organs. It was a miracle she didn't bleed to death. 

''Yeah, I bet you look terrible in them now,'' Steve said sarcastically, staring a little too long at the scar for Katya to be comfortable. 

''She doesn't. She looks very hot in them.'' Natasha rolled her eyes and a hint of a smile played on her lips as she dropped the shirt down again. 

''Going after him is a dead end. I know, I've tried.'' She held up the flash drive for Steve to see. Where did she get that thing from? ''Like you said, he's a ghost story.''

The Captain grabbed the drive quickly, before she could take it away again. ''Well, let's find out what the ghost wants.''


	32. On The Run

Natasha pushed a clear bottle in Katya's right hand as they swiftly walked through the long corridors of the hospital, back to the car.

The pills inside the bottle rattled as Katya shook it. ''Drugs? That's your peace offering?''

''You know I'm sorry,'' the woman next to her muttered to the floor, ashamed of her behavior earlier, ''I saw you and Rogers make a ten-story fall and I figured your shoulder would hurt.'' She glanced at the left arm Katya held tightly against her chest, trying to move it as little as possible. ''Seems like I was right.'' Natasha still had trouble apologizing. This was about as best as they got.

Katya's heart warmed at how much Natasha thought about her and cared for her. ''Did you steal these?''

''What?'' She chuckled, ''There's not much to do in hospitals besides raiding the vending machines. I even got your favorite.''

Katya's eyes widened as Nat pulled a chocolate bar from her jacket pocket. How much did she have in those? ''Apology accepted.'' Katya smiled as she snatched the food from her hand and opened it immediately. She hadn't had anything to eat after the pizza from last night and was trying to keep her stomach silent. 

She threw some pills in her mouth as well. Probably too much to be healthy, but the pain wasn't lessening. Upon seeing how many she took, Natasha looked at her worried. ''That bad?''

Katya nodded under the hood. ''It didn't agree with falling down ten stories and hitting a stone hard ground at such a high speed. It's seriously messed up now.'' The frown between the redhead's eyebrows wasn't something Katya liked seeing. She liked seeing her smile, so that's what she tried. ''But hey, I thought that was pretty reckless. Maybe that title should go to me.''

Natasha's frown disappeared almost entirely as she chuckled silently. ''You can have it. Will spare me some heartattacks.'' Katya laughed silently at the image in her head of Natasha's shocked face when seeing her fall out the elevator with the Captain. 

A comfortable silence fell over them again, with both women still following the soldier out of the hospital, trying to stay away from the camera's. Suddenly, Natasha's head turned from Steve's back to Katya, like she remembered something or figured something out. ''What's going on between you and Rogers?''

Katya sighed. ''You saw that huh?'' While Katya tried to act like everything was normal with the Captain, he didn't, and his angry faces towards Katya had been picked up by Natasha. As usual.

''You do know who you're talking to, right?'' Natasha raised an amused eyebrow, both of them making another left at the end of another hallway.

''He found out about the apartment.'' Natasha's eyes filled with understanding, but that was not all the Captain had found out in the last couple hours. ''And he saw Insight.''

Of course Natasha knew about Project Insight. While she didn't like it either, it was just the way the world works. Besides, Fury knows what he's doing and she trusts him. ''Let me guess, he doesn't agree with SHIELD's ways?''

Katya shook her head, some blonde strands of hair falling out under the hood. Her quick hands pushed them back under. ''No. Said it was fear and not freedom. Didn't want to have any part in it.''

The elevator finally came into view and they were approaching it quickly. Natasha spoke rapidly, before they were locked in the same room as Rogers and the conversation was cut off. ''What did you say?''

''That he was already part of it and that it was time for him to move on if he couldn't handle it.'' Right as she spoke the last word, Steve stopped and pressed the elevator button. They were within earshot now. Maybe they had been all the time, with Steve's enhanced hearing and all. But he had said nothing and didn't throw them any nasty looks, so Katya thought they were good. 

It was funny. Katya should have been afraid of elevators now, but this one was so much different than the one at HQ, that it didn't bother her at all. Besides, when you have a supersoldier and another crazy skilled assassin in the tiny space with you, it was hard to be afraid. 

Katya casually leaned against the metal wall, the smooth wooden railing pressing into her back. Steve stood with a stoic face right in front of the doors, hoping to escape the awkward tension in the elevator as soon as the doors opened enough for him to squeeze through. Natasha had an amused look on her face as she watched the tensed Captain. This wasn't his territory, being on the run, it was theirs. And he wasn't doing a very good job at it.

He was relieved from his torture not long after, when the large doors opened with loud rumbling. He practically ran out, his long legs heading towards the pickup truck they had stolen earlier. Natasha raised an eyebrow in question at the sight of the old car, but Katya just smiled mysteriously. Telling the story would spoil the fun. She wanted to see what Steve, Mr. Righteous, would answer to the question. 

Probably make up some story about going to return it or paying for it. He could. The man was loaded. Not that he needed any of it. The most expensive thing he had bought in the last few years was that 'vintage' motorcycle that looked like it could fall apart at any given moment. Katya was more of the newer, more modern, faster cars and motorcycles. But hey, everyone their own, right?

Katya, again, was too late at calling shotgun and ended up in the back. Joke's on them though, because she had the whole backseat to herself. And she would use it. Later though, they had more pressing matters than sleeping at the moment. Like the fact that they were still being hunted by SHIELD. Even if they still didn't know why. 

''So help me out here,'' Natasha spoke, halfway turning around in her seat so she could look at Katya and Steve at the same time, ''Why did you jump out of that elevator again?''

Steve was still pissed at her, so Katya had to answer. ''They wanted to kill us. Well, I think they wanted to kill Rogers but they had the pleasure of dealing with me, too.'' Natasha smirked at the comment, but stayed silent to hear the rest of the story. ''First it was ten against two in an elevator fight after being threatened by Director Pierce. Then it was being taken or shot when exiting the elevator in a normal way. S.T.R.I.K.E. was blocking the hallways. So the only option was to jump out really, or you would be planning a prison break right about now.''

''Well, I don't know, I like a good prison break.'' Katya smiled, shaking her head. Of everything she just told her, that's the part she was focusing on? ''But that still doesn't explain why they were trying to kill you.''

Katya thought about it, repeating the last few days over and over in her head, trying to connect everything. ''Pierce is somehow connected to all of this, as is Fury. Something bigger is going on here. The boatmission, Fury's death, the intel, this manhunt, Pierce. I don't trust the guy.''

''Yeah, me neither. You don't know him? From back in the day?'' This was Natasha's subtle way of asking if he was HYDRA, not actually wanting to say the name out loud.

Katya shook her head. ''Like I told you back then, I was only a simple Agent. Didn't see any of the big guys or know their names. Besides, it's not like he would use his own name if he was. Sorry.''

''Would you even tell us if you did?'' Steve spoke up for the first time, only having listened to the conversation between the two spies in the car. His eyes didn't leave the road while he asked the question. It didn't bother Katya as much as Natasha, who balled her fists and clenched her jaw at the question.

''Of course she would, Rogers. What kind of bullshit is that?''

''Nat, let it go.'' Katya tried to calm the situation before it got out of hand. A fight isn't something they could use right now. They needed everyone to make it out of this mess and they needed to work together.

But she wasn't letting it go and neither was Steve, who didn't even dare to look to his right when he spoke, too scared he didn't dare say whatever he wanted too, if he saw how angry she looked. ''So you knew too.''

Natasha scoffed. ''Of course I know. I know what pizza toppings she likes, so I know which missions she goes on. Secret or not.''

Steve's eyes narrowed but he kept his eyes forward, although his hands clenched around the steering wheel. ''And you didn't feel the need to tell me, either.''

''No. Why should I? It's not my place and not my mission.''

Now Steve was the one to scoff, a disappointed look on his face. ''So instead of hiding behind Fury, like Katya did, you hide behind the system.''

Having heard enough of this, Katya leaned forward between the seats to block their vision of each other. Maybe if they didn't see each other, it would calm down a little. ''Guys, cut it out. Rogers, stop making this into a big deal. What's done is done and you know now.'' She turned her head to the right to look at her girlfriend. ''Nat, he's at least as stubborn as you, no changing his mind. Believe me, I tried.''

No answer came from either of them, but Natasha settled down with a stubborn huff and crossed arms and Steve ignored them both. This was the best it was going to get right now. A very awkward silence followed. Steve staring straight ahead at the road and Natasha observing their surroundings through the window to her right. 

Katya fell back with a sigh and just waited until they had finally reached their destination. Which was the biggest mall in the city. Lots of people, lots of busy paths and lots of dark corners to hide in. They had to find out what was on that USB and in order to do that, they needed a laptop. So where did they go, to the Apple Store. And not just any Apple Store. A very busy one with lots of people to shield them from the camera's. It was not going to be easy to get there undetected and get away in time to avoid SHIELD catching up to them. But it was also not impossible. 

Steve, again, drove as if they had all the time in the world. It was probably for the best, because racing through the city and through multiple red lights would definitely catch SHIELD's attention, but Katya's leg bounced up and down impatiently. With every second they wasted, SHIELD was getting closer. She could feel it. The sweet feeling of the hunt. Them the mouse, SHIELD the cat. Although Katya, Natasha and Steve were not hopeless mice, they could outsmart the cat if they wanted to. If only Steve could keep cool, not being a spy at heart.

Finally a big sign told them the mall was close. The traffic around this area busier than anywhere else in the city, Natasha and Katya kept a close eye out for any SHIELD vehicles. They were easy to spot if you knew what you were looking for. And they did. They drove them for years.

Nothing suspicious to report though, so the trio made it safely to the underground garage of the mall. They had to act like everything was normal, so Katya climbed out of the back in a casual motion, like she was going shopping. Steve had more trouble keeping up the act, speed walking away from both women like they were poisonous snakes and heading to the escalator that would lead them to ground floor.

Natasha seemed to have cooled down though. Or maybe it was just her playing along with the whole 'we-are-not-on-the-run-facade'. It sucked that her hood prevented Katya from seeing Natasha's face, since her body language was much easier to manipulate and couldn't get a good read on her this way. Stupid hoods. Who even wore these for fun? You couldn't see anything.

What Katya did understand is when Natasha sped up her steps for a second to catch up to Steve, grabbing his arm in a casual motion to slow him down visibly, before quickly letting it go. If she didn't, he would have probably ripped his arm free, which would draw attention. ''First rule of going on the run is don't run, walk,'' she explained to him quietly, all while keeping a straight face. 

Katya trailed behind them quietly, keeping her body facing their backs but her eyes darting everywhere around them. If she had her phone, she would act as if that had all her attention, but unfortunately, she left it at HQ. Not that she needed it anyway. It was an easy way to track her and so this mission would have forced her to throw it away. Not something she liked doing. Getting a new phone wasn't the problem, she had money enough for that. It was installing and fitting it to her liking that annoyed her. 

''If I run in these shoes, they're gonna fall off,'' Steve answered Natasha sarcastically, which caused Katya to roll her eyes. That and the fact that Steve looked around way to suspicious, his head flying from left to right in an attempt to look for danger. What he didn't understand is they only put them in more danger this way. 

''Stop being so suspicious, Rogers,'' Katya hissed from behind him, ''Or you are going to be the reason we end up dead.''

She couldn't see his face. He was probably pissed at her comment. But he did do what she said and kept looking straight forward for the rest of the walk over to the store. 

The store wasn't a good place for three fugitives to hide. It was light, had too many employees walking around asking questions, too many camera's securing the expensive laptops and only one way out. 

Through the front entrance. This was the worst possible place they could be right now, but it was also the best one they could find. Places with computers free to use were hard to find and this mall was a good place to hide if they needed to run. But otherwise, Katya would have run right out if she could.


	33. Cat And Mouse

''Fury was right about that ship, somebody's trying to hide something.'' All sorts of information about the Lumerian Star pop up on screen. So this was about the ship. Katya knew something was going on with that mission. ''This drive is protected by some sort of AI, it keeps rewriting itself to counter my commands.''

''Can you override it?'' Steve asks her impatiently. His eyes scan the store frantically, doing absolutely nothing to be subtle. Katya made a mental note to never go on the run with this guy again. 

''The person who developed this is slightly smarter than me.'' Natasha saw Katya smile from the corner of her eye, happy there was finally something she couldn't do. Natasha loved bragging about her skills, always saying she could do anything, but this was finally a code she couldn't crack. ''Slightly,'' the redhead emphasizes to try and get that teasing smile off Katya's face, but it only grew bigger.

''Guess we finally found something you can't do,'' Katya said quietly.

''Oh, shut up. I don't see you doing anything right now.''

''I'm watching your back, Romanoff. Now keep typing.'' 

Natasha threw a dirty sidelook her way, before shaking her head and focusing on the laptop again. She was getting more and more frustrated by the second, since whatever she wanted to do, wasn't working. ''I'm gonna try running a tracer. This is a program that SHIELD developed to track hostile malware, so if we can't read the file, maybe we can find out where it came from.'' 

Right as she finished her sentence, Katya felt someone behind her. She turned around in time to see an Apple Store employee opening his mouth to ask a question. ''Can I help you guys with anything?'' He looked kind, nice, with glasses and a beard. Not your typical employee, but hey, what did Katya know about working in a store?

She was quick to come up with an answer, grabbing Rogers from Natasha's other side and linking their arms. He protested against her touch, but Katya kept a firm grip, making sure the employee's vision of the laptop was blocked by her and Steve. ''Oh, no. My fiancé was just helping me with some honeymoon destinations.'' She left Natasha out of the conversation intentionally, to not draw attention to her doing weird things on that laptop.

When Steve didn't back her up, Katya pinched his arm. He shot up, putting on the best smile he could manage. ''Right! We're getting married.'' She wanted to fall through the floor right then and there. That sentence was as convincing as asking a child with chocolate all over his face if he had eaten the cake and the answer being no.

Lucky for them, the employee was as oblivious as you could get them. He smiled even bigger, his eyes flashing between Katya and Steve. ''Congratulations. Where are you guys thinking about going?''

Katya opened her mouth to say something. Probably the Bahama's or Bali or something, but Steve suddenly leaned over her to peak on the computer, where a location trace was still working its magic. ''New Jersey.''

Katya groaned inwardly and she could see Natasha's smile reflect in the screen. 

''Oh!'' The employee says surprised. But he doesn't question it. Instead, he is distracted by something else, staring at Steve like he suddenly remembered something. Katya held her breath as the silence continued and she felt Steve stiffen beside her. What if the man recognized him? They had no time to deal with a screaming fan.

''I have the exact same glasses,'' the man finally blurted out. Katya released the air in her lungs and Steve relaxed. They were good for another few minutes.

''Wow, you two are practically twins,'' Natasha said in a dry, sarcastic voice behind Katya, who had to bite on her lip to keep from laughing and insulting this guy.

''Yeah, I wish,'' the guy said, gesturing with his hands to Steve's obviously fit body. ''Specimen. Uh...if you guys need anything, I've been Aaron.'' He tapped his namecard and backed away slowly.

''Thank you,'' Steve answered kindly, because Katya wasn't the nicest person in the world. As soon as Aaron turned around, Katya withdrew her hands from Steve and took a quick step back. She still didn't like touching the guy. He felt the same way, brushing off the sleeve she had grabbed like her hands were dirty.

Katya took her original position next to Nat, although she pressed her body a bit closer to her. 

''Guess we found something you're not good at,'' Natasha echoed Katya's words from before. 

''Oh, shut up you.''

Steve interrupted their joking, taking all the lightness and fun out of it. ''You said nine minutes, come on.'' His watch was counting down the minutes and it had just dropped under one minute. They needed to get out of here fast, or they would be boxed in this store and a fight would break out. Not the publicity they wanted.

Natasha tried to ease him. ''Shh, relax.'' The computer suddenly beeped, drawing Katya's attention to the screen. ''Got it,'' Natasha said with a satisfied and cocky smirk. Katya rolled her eyes before focusing on what location she had pinned.

Wheaton, New Jersey.

Wheaton? Katya had no idea what could be there, but Steve had frozen and his eyes biggened, something that didn't go unnoticed by Natasha either. She turned her head to the right, studying Rogers' face. ''You know it?''

''I used to. Let's go.'' He muttered rapidly, before yanking the USB out of its slot and stalking out of the store, not waiting for the two women to follow. Katya sighed, sharing a tired and annoyed look with Natasha, who felt the same way.

''Remind me to never take him on these missions again,'' the blonde said to Nat. They walked side by side out of the store, trying to catch up with Steve in a casual way.

Natasha smiled under her hood. ''I don't know, you make quite a team,'' she teased Katya.

''Pfff,'' Katya rolled her eyes. ''We were lucky that guy was completely oblivious.''

''I'd say blind. He screams Captain America even with those stupid glasses on.'' They both look at Steve, who was slowing down gradually after he realized they were far behind. Even without his red, white and blue suit, he was Captain America. At least, to them. Because they had seen him in normal clothes before and knew him. But to some, they had only seen the hero and not the man. So apparently, his disguise wasn't that bad? Or everyone was just not paying attention to their surroundings. Let's just keep it at that.

Katya chuckled quietly as they caught up with Steve, who was trying to make his way to the escalators without being seen. Even though SHIELD didn't catch them at the store, they knew agents were in this mall. They had their location. Eight minutes was enough time to spread out through the building and have people everywhere. 

So Katya's eyes swept everyone they passed and everyone walking their way. She looked into stores and dark corners while keeping her head down and walking normally. But Steve was the one who saw the agents first. It was probably to blame on his height. The guy was at least a foot taller than her. 

''Standard tac-team. Two behind, to across, two coming straight at us. If they make us, I'll engage, you hit the south escalator to the metro.'' Katya rolled her eyes at his stress and soldier-mode. He needed to start thinking like a spy and not like a soldier. Spies only fought when absolutely necessary. They tried to lie and manipulate their way out first. Fighting would attrack attention and that was the last thing they needed. Subtlety is key.

Natasha knew this too, cutting Steve off and ordering him to shut up. ''Shut up and put your arm around me, laugh at something I said.''

He looked deeply confused. Katya could see that from Natasha's other side. He was clearly not used to doing this the quiet way and not used to being bossed around like that. She had thrown him off. ''What?'' he asked.

''Do it!'' Katya whisper-yelled at him. She had wasted no time doing what Natasha said. The agents were getting closer and closer and even though the three were wearing disguises, they would be spotted immediately. There was no time for arguing and Steve realized that too, when he finally gave in and produced the world's worst fake-laugh ever. 

Honestly, it surprised Katya that the sound alone didn't attrack the SHIELD agents' interest. What didn't surprise her was that the technique worked. Natasha had a lot of experience and could come up with things like this on the spot. Not that Katya couldn't, but still, the fast thinking impressed her from time to time. 

The agents passed them without a second glance, but this had been too close. They needed to get out of this mall quickly. It was a death-trap and they needed to get to the car and get out. 

They reached the escalator without any problems, Natasha getting on first, Katya right behind her and Steve closing the line. This place was tricky. They were going down, which meant that the whole floor below could see them. It was a bad place to be and that proved to be right when Katya's trained eyes spotted the worst SHIELD Agent of all coming up the escalator next to them: Rumlow. 

What were they going to do now? He would pass them in less then five seconds with less then five foot between them. His eyes scanned everyone he passed, everyone on their side of the escalator.   
Natasha suddenly turned around, as if stung by a bee. No doubt she had seen Rumlow too. ''Kiss me,'' she ordered Katya.

She did not have to say that again. A smirk formed on her face as she pulled Natasha closer. The fact that Katya was on a higher step forcing Natasha to stand on her toes to reach her. ''Yes, ma'am.''

But just as she was about to connect their lips, Steve interrupted again. He just couldn't shut up, could he? ''What?''

Natasha didn't even look at him as she answered, just kept her eyes on Katya's lips as she muttered, ''Public displays of affection make people very uncomfortable.'' Grabbing Katya's face in the hope to hide it more, the redhead finally closed the gap between them. 

This was new, kissing out in the open. Most of the time, the kissing was done in private places such as bedrooms, bathrooms and apartments, not in public spaces like this. But the fact that they were both disguised and nobody knew it was them, gave them both the same feeling as if they were at home. Well, what used to be home anyway. SHIELD was no longer their home.

Katya had to force herself not to get lost in her beautiful girlfriend who tried very hard to do the same. This wasn't the place or the time to start a heavy makeout session. Certainly not with Steve watching like a creep behind Katya, who felt his eyes on the back of her head. ''Yes, they do,'' she heard him mumble under his breath as a reaction to Natasha's explanation of earlier. 

This caused both Katya and Natasha to smile and break apart. The latter threw a quick glance over Katya's shoulder to make sure Rumlow had passed them and was out of earshot before teasing Rogers. ''You still uncomfortable?''

Her firm hand grabbed Katya's and pulled her down the escalator, past all the people and down to the ground floor. 

''It's not exactly the word I would use,'' Steve said more to himself than to both spies as he followed them, but they heard him anyway. Katya stifled the laugh that wanted to force itself out of her mouth at his unease. This was another thing they could tease him with. The guy was so easy to taunt. She could see why Stark liked doing it. 

As he caught up with Natasha and Katya, making an escape towards the exit, Katya couldn't help but say something. How could she not? He asked for it, really. 

''You're too old-fashioned old man, you should loosen up a little,'' Katya teased him, ''Get a girlfriend! I'm sure Natasha would love to help with that. Her success rate is high. I mean, look at me!''

Natasha's green eyes lit up and a chuckle escaped her. Her amusement only fueled by Rogers' disgusted and annoyed face.


	34. Visiting Old Ghosts

Katya had dozed off a little, when finally the welcome sign from the state of New Jersey emerged in the distance. A little wave of relieve and energy hit her, and it looked like she wasn't the only one. 

Natasha, who had one leg perched up on the dashboard, suddenly turned her head to Steve as if she had just thought of something. Katya sat up a little straighter in the backseat, yearning for someone to break the tense silence they had been driving in. 

''Where did Captain America learn how to steal a car?''

Katya couldn't hold back the snort that followed Natasha's completely random question. She had expected a lot, but not that. 

Natasha threw her an amused look over her shoulder, before expectantly turning back to Rogers. Katya inched forward herself, leaning between the two front seats to make sure she heard his answer. 

''Nazi Germany,'' Steve answered dryly, not in the mood for any of these games of hers. ''And we're borrowing. Take your feet off the dash.''

Natasha raised her eyebrows in surprised amusement and after a second, took her feet off with a smirk. 

''I don't want to burst your bubble, Rogers, but whatever you did to this car to get it, didn't look much like borrowing,'' Katya chimed in from the back. ''But whatever makes you feel better, I guess,'' she shrugged. 

Steve threw her an angry look in the rearview mirror but didn't comment. Maybe he was getting used to her taunting and found that the best way to shut her up was to just ignore her. Well, he wasn't wrong. It did take all the fun out of it, if her target didn't react to her jokes. A trick Natasha picked up on very soon. 

But now, the redhead joined in, clearly amused by Steve correcting her earlier. ''Alright, I have a question for you, oh, which you do not have to answer. I feel like if you don't answer it though, you're kind of answering it, you know?'' she rambled. 

Katya smiled as Steve sighed in annoyance. ''What?''

Natasha wasted no time asking the question. ''Did you even kiss someone after 1945? Anyone at all?''

Katya let out a laugh at another unexpected question from Natasha. She was always the one asking the questions you didn't want asked and Steve was screwed today. 

Rogers was not someone to give up without a fight, so that's exactly why he countered her question. ''You say it like it's a bad thing.''

''I didn't say that,'' Natasha defended herself. 

''Well, it kind of sounds like that's what you're saying.''

''No, I didn't. I just wondered how much practice you've had.'' Natasha stumbled over her words as she tried to lie her way out of this. 

''You don't need practice.''

''Everybody needs practice. Katya and I practice all the time.''

Katya nodded in agreement when Steve's eyes unconsciously flickered to her. He scrunched up his nose at the mental image he just received and decided he couldn't win from them. So he finally answered her question, although it was more to get them to shut up.

''My last kiss wasn't in 1945. I'm ninety-five, I'm not dead.''

Katya pulled a 'debatable' face before leaning forward even more so she could see Steve's face better. ''Who was it? I bet it was that nurse, who wasn't really a nurse, from across the hall.''

''Yeah and whose fault was it that I didn't know that,'' Steve asked pettily. 

''Oh come on, you're not still mad about that?'' she asked.

''It was yesterday!''

Katya slumped back a little, admitting defeat. ''Good point.''

Natasha, who had watched the interaction with a smile on her lips, steered the conversation back on track when it fell silent again. ''Nobody special, though?''

Steve chuckled sarcastically. ''Believe it or not, it's kind of hard to find someone with shared life experience.''

Natasha shrugged. ''Well, that's alright, you just make something up.''

Steve scoffed silently. What she was saying was something he would never even think of doing. Wouldn't even come up. He wasn't like them. ''What, like you two?''

Natasha shrugged again. ''I don't know. The truth is a matter of circumstances, it's not all things to all people all the time. And neither are we.''

Katya nodded, agreeing with her statement. In this business, choosing which parts of yourself to reveal and which to conceal was very important. It was all about giving the right people the right amounts of information about yourself to get them to trust you enough. It was all about protecting yourself from betrayal and pain. It was something Katya had had to learn to let go a little after joining SHIELD. It wasn't as important there as with HYDRA, but it was a tough habit to break. 

''That's a tough way to live,'' Steve said softly. The look in his eyes had changed from angry to sad. Like he had finally realized that they didn't have it as easy as they let on. Their tough exterior made up for the doubts and fears within and he saw that for the first time. 

''It's a good way not to die, though,'' Katya almost whispered when she felt the change of emotions in the man and in the conversation.

Steve stayed silent for a bit, processing the information he had just received, before turning back to Natasha with a little frustration but also helplessness in his eyes. Like he wanted to trust them, but he didn't know how. ''You know, it's kind of hard to trust someone when you don't know who that someone really is.''

''Yeah,'' she agreed, before looking at Katya for a second. ''Who do you want us to be?''

He didn't have to think about that long, like he already knew what he wanted before she asked that. Maybe he had given this more thought than he had let on. ''How about a friend?''

Katya and Natasha chuckled at the same time, which caused Rogers to look confused for a second. ''Well, there's a chance you might be in the wrong business, Rogers,'' Natasha said finally. 

It fell silent again, as Steve undoubtedly ran the conversation through his mind again, trying to figure out how he felt about the two spies in his car and if he could trust them. If he wanted to trust them.   
Katya sat back in her seat and watched the landscape unroll through the windows. Natasha was also lost in her own mind and it wouldn't surprise Katya if they thought about the same thing. How did they get so messed up? Why did they trust nobody and why did they hide parts of themselves from everyone but each other? 

The answers were simple, which made it more frustrating. Why them? Why did the universe decide that these two beautiful young girls were stolen from their life and thrown into a life of murder and violence? 

Katya had two answers for that: one, the universe hated them and pushed every bad thing the Earth had on them. And two, the universe knew they were strong enough to handle whatever it threw at them and come out stronger on the other side. 

On some days, the first option seemed more likely. Especially days like this, when they were on the run from the organization they had worked for for years and where she thought they had found a safe place. It was days like this that were the hardest for her to not fall back into old habits and old mindsets. 

Luckily, she was not alone. Not anymore. With Natasha, she knew she could handle whatever life threw at her and more and more days felt like the second option. But that was also a risk. The higher you fly, the further you fall. Katya knew that well enough. Some days, she felt the elastic about to break. But it never came until now. Until they were on the run again. Something she wished she would never have to do again. 

She just hoped they would come out the other side in one piece, preferably stronger. But something told her that that may not be the case this time. 

~~~~~~~~

Natasha pulled out her little detection device for an electronic signal as soon as Steve steered the car off the highway. He seemed to know well where they had to go and Katya wasn't about to interfere with it. She had no sense of direction at all, so she just let the navigation over to the man in the front. 

The road turned into gravel that gritted under the wheels loudly. The road looked abandoned. No fresh track marks or other sign of recent use and the grass along the roadside hadn't been cut in years. Wherever they were going, the chance that they would find anything became smaller and smaller the longer the road went on. 

Just as Katya felt they were cut off from humanity altogether, an iron fence emerged in front of them. And the closer they came, the more obvious it became as to what it was. The high, sturdy fence in combination with barbed wire on top and the guard post just behind it, told her that it was some sort of camp. 

She was out before the other two had even unbuckled their seatbelts and walked to the sign that had caught her eye. 

''This is it,'' Steve announced as Katya heard two sets of feet on the gravel behind her.

''The file came from these coordinates,'' Natasha agreed, pocketing the device to study the sight before her.

''So did I,'' Katya heard Steve say in a sad tone. 'Camp Leigh. U.S. Army Restricted Area.' Said the sign in front of her. This must have been a training camp during the Second World War for the American soldiers. She hadn't known Steve was trained here.

While Steve tried to break the fragile lock on the fence with his shield, Katya shared an anxious look with Natasha. No doubt they were thinking the same thing: Steve being here all those years ago and the file coming from exactly here was very suspicious. 

The fence opened with a loud rattle, which was deafening in the silence and the growing darkness, as Rogers pushed it open. It was obvious that nobody was here, but he held his shield tightly in his hand as he walked through, followed by the two Russians. 

The ground was sandy and overall just made out of dirt. A heavy shower and this place would turn into a mud bath. Grass and weeds grew in random spots and the buildings were dirty and worn down. Nobody had touched this place in years. 

To be completely honest, it gave Katya the creeps. Abandoned places weren't her thing, especially in the dark. But the other two didn't seem to have any trouble at all. Steve just walked around in wonder, his head lost in memories and nostalgic feelings. Natasha had pulled out her digital device again and scanned the area for any electronic signal. 

''This camp is where I was trained,'' Steve said to no one in particular. 

Natasha, never the one for sentimental stuff, asked casually ''Changed much?''

''A little,'' he admitted. His eyes glossing over in a lost memory. 

''It's like he's in love with this place,'' Katya whispered jokingly from behind Natasha as she caught up with her. 

Natasha chuckled softly while keeping her focus on the device in her hand. ''Can't imagine why.'' There were no signals at all coming from here. Not even one. The device stayed awfully quiet. 

''Nothing?'' Katya asked her when they had walked another few feet with nothing happening. 

With a shake of her head, Natasha dropped her hand and turned to both Katya and Steve. ''This is a dead end. Zero heat signature, zero waves, not even radio. Whoever wrote the file must have used a router to throw people off.'' 

But Steve almost didn't hear the last part of her sentence. He had stopped scanning the area when his eye fell on a building a little farther away. It looked innocent enough, but apparently, it had caught his interest. 

''What is it?'' Natasha asked curiously when she saw him staring. 

The man didn't answer. Instead he passed the two women with a hurried stride, his eyes fixed on the building he found so interesting. 

Katya and Natasha shared a confused look and then hurried after him. When Steve felt them behind him, he distractedly explained what was going on. ''Army regulations forbid storing ammunition within five hundred yards of the barracks. This building is in the wrong place.''

Now Katya was interested too. An undercover base in an army camp? Maybe this would turn out useful after all. 

Rogers broke the rusted lock with his shield (again), and pulled open the heavy door with difficulty. It had been closed for so long that the hinges had rusted shut. But, as always, the super soldier got the job done. 

A stale, damp air hit their faces as they carefully stepped into the dark of the bunker. It was eerie quiet and it felt like anything could happen at any given moment. All three agents were on edge as they descended the stairs, deeper into the unknown. Katya felt the urge to turn around every couple of steps to make sure nobody followed them and so she made a sound of relief when Natasha switched on the lights. 

Row by row, the overhead lights flickered on. The first one, all the way in the back, revealed a large logo painted on the far wall. It may have changed a bit over the course of years, but even Katya recognized it immediately. It was the same symbol they had a large statue from at HQ. It was the SHIELD logo. 

And as more lights turned on, it became clearer and clearer what they were standing in the middle of. 

''This is SHIELD,'' Natasha finally said what everyone was thinking. 

Katya saw no harm in looking around, stepping forward and to one of the wooden desks on her right. Dozens of papers and files lay scattered on the desk. Empty mugs and forgotten pictures had caught dust so thick that Katya had to wipe it off to see the faces on the pictures. A kind-looking, middle-aged woman smiled right back at her, a little boy on her arm. It was a beautiful photo, not something you would just keep standing around here. 

''It's like they just up and left,'' Katya spoke while placing the picture back where it belonged.   
Natasha hummed in agreement as she, too, had noticed that. Steve in the meantime, looked around with big eyes that held a little sadness in them. 

''You didn't know about this?'' Katya asked him, a little surprised that he didn't seem to know. 

''Must have been after I left,'' he answered, standing in front of the logo. Steve never spoke of his time in the ice and he had a hard time talking about it. Instead, he used vague sentences like 'after I left' or 'when I went missing'. She understood why he said it like that, but at the same time often wondered if the man had gotten any sort of psychological help when he joined SHIELD. 

Fury would have undoubtedly offered it, but Rogers was a stubborn guy so it wouldn't surprise her if he had said no to it. Katya, for one, knew that it wasn't always the best idea to talk about your past when that was the last thing you wanted to ever think of again. Especially with a therapist who knew nothing about what you went through. 

Following the Captain, they eventually ended up in another room. This one looked like a storage room maybe? It had a lot of cabinets with large compartments. But that wasn't what was so special about this room. 

On the wall in front of them hung three portraits. Natasha was the first to recognize one. ''There's Starks father.''

''Howard,'' Steve corrected her.

''Two peas in a pot,'' Katya said when she saw how much her friend looked like his father. 

Natasha nodded in agreement before focusing on the woman next to Howard, who Steve was much more interested in than old Stark. ''Who's the girl?'' Natasha asked slyly as she saw his longing look.

The woman knew damn well who Peggy Carter was. Everyone at SHIELD knew who Peggy Carter was. She just wanted to see what Steve's reaction would be. Unfortunately, she got none, because Steve ripped his eyes away from the picture and turned the other way. 

Katya shook her head lightly with an amused smile on her lips at Nat, who just shrugged and acted like she didn't know what she did wrong. 

When they turned to catch up with Steve, they saw that he had stopped in front of one specific cabin, looking at it confused but also with a sudden realization. ''If you're already working in a secret office...'' he started. Placing his hands in the gap between the cabin and the next, he pulled with all his might on the wood. And to Katya's surprise, it slid to the side to reveal a space behind. 

''Why do you need to hide the elevator?'' Katya finished his sentence with confusion and interest on her face. 

Natasha was the first one to step forward, taking out her handy dandy device again and scanning the panel next to the elevator for the access code. The fact that this elevator was hidden and had an access code, told them that whatever was hiding below their feet was top secret. 

And if Katya loved anything, it was secrets.


	35. Down To Earth

The doors to the elevator opened with a surprisingly soft rattle. You would think that after who knows how many years, it was at least a little rusty. But no, everything seemed to work like it was supposed to. At least, Katya hoped so. She had no desire to plummet down in an elevator again. She had her fair share of elevator crashes.

All three agents just stared at the empty elevator as if expecting something to happen, none of them moving and all sort of confused about all of this. The secret bunker, 70 year old SHIELD and now the hidden elevator. It was a little much to comprehend in one day. As if they didn't have enough to deal with at the moment. 

Katya was the first one to snap out of it, scoffing at their stupidity and walking in a little overconfident to show the other two that she wasn't scared of whatever they would find below their feet. ''Well, are you coming? We're kind of on a clock here.'' She asked impatiently when the other two didn't follow her at first.

They finally unfroze too and Steve, being the gentleman he was, gestured for Natasha to walk in first. She rolled her eyes at him but stepped in anyway, looking around the elevator for any sorts of clues as to where they were going. But there was nothing.

The elevator only had two buttons: up and down. And since they were already at the top, the only option was to go down. So when Steve was in, Natasha pressed the button and the doors closed just as quietly as they had opened. 

The small light on the ceiling did almost nothing to lighten up the small room and Katya couldn't help but feel claustrophobic. It brought back a lot of memories she didn't want to relive and had to focus on her breathing to keep herself calm. Katya was never one to panic quickly, that wasn't really helpful as a spy, but certain situations or environments triggered something in her. 

It didn't happen often, luckily, and she had learned how to deal with it. But that feeling of your throat closing up and the lack of air in your lungs got to her every time. 

So Katya was happy that the doors opened again, almost stumbling out before even looking at her surroundings. It was stupid, she knew that. Always check your surroundings 24/7 on possible threats before doing anything and be careful. If this was a real mission, she could have been dead. 

Natasha and Steve were smarter. They carefully looked around the room before slowly stepping out. Not that that was necessary anymore. Katya had kind of ruined the surprise. 

The blonde looked up from the ground and around her after regaining her posture. The lights flickered on when Natasha and Steve passed her, walking further into the dark room. They must have triggered a motion sensor at some point.

What Katya saw as her eyes scanned the room confused her even more. Rows and rows of ancient looking electronical equipment filled the room. And after turning around on her heels, she concluded it covered the whole space. 

She honestly had no idea what this must be. Technology wasn't really her strong suit. She could operate the tech SHIELD gave her and admittedly, she could also hack into some things, yes. But that was only because she was taught how it worked. This technology was almost a century old and it had changed a lot over the years. So whatever was standing here in this room, it made zero sense to her. 

What did make sense, was that a large setup in the middle of the room, right in front of them, was somehow the most important thing in the room. It had one big screen, with multiple smaller screens around it and a lot of buttons and switches on a panel below. It even had a chair in front of it.

Natasha had walked up to it, looking around in confusion and concluding what they were all thinking. ''This can't be the data-point, this technology is ancient.'' 

Katya furrowed her brows as she saw Natasha suddenly focusing her attention on something she saw near the large screen. Realizing she was still standing in the middle of the room like an idiot, Katya joined her side and saw her standing with the flash drive in her hand, debating whether to stick it into the surprisingly modern flash drive port on the desk.

The small, black box was definitely new and was planted here not long ago. Whoever had come here, they weren't gone long. 

Natasha shared an unsure and nervous look with Katya, who nodded at the silent question. If they wanted to know what was on the drive, they had no other option than to plug it in. But just like in the mall, it was a big risk. SHIELD would know immediately where they were, so there was no time to lose. 

A soft beep sounded as the spy put the flash drive in one of the ports and immediately, everything around them came to life. More lights flickered on and all sorts of things began to whir and move. 

Steve, Natasha and Katya didn't know where to look, turning in their spot and trying to make sense of all this. ''What the hell,'' Katya whispered more to herself than the others. This place freaked her out and she couldn't wait to get out of here. 

Something in the corner of her eye caught her interest and Katya turned around to the big screen just in time to see green letters appear on it. She elbowed Natasha, who turned around and followed her line of sight, only to be met with the strange words too:

''Initiate system?'' the computer read out loud in a crackly 'voice'.

They just stared at it in confusion, until Natasha stepped forward, placing her fingers on the keyboard and typing a logical answer. 

''Y-E-S, spells yes,'' she said as she typed it. Apparently, it was the right answer, because the computer started powering up, an even louder humming sound audible. 

Everyone waited in silence for what would happen next, when Natasha spoke again. ''Shall we play a game?"

Despite the tension, Katya couldn't help but chuckle. This was another typical Natasha joke. It came out of nowhere and was completely inappropriate at this time, but it made you laugh every time. 

Natasha smirked at Katya before noticing that Steve wasn't laughing at all. Maybe he didn't get the joke. ''It's from a movie that was really pop-'' Natasha started to explain to him with a smile, hopefully to get him to lighten up a bit too, but he cut her off before she could finish her sentence.

''I know, I saw it.'' Natasha's smile fell and she turned around again, seeing the camera on top of the computer start to turn. Katya took a small step forward so that she stood beside the other two as to not miss anything that was happening.

The screen started to flicker and some sort of face became visible. It looked oddly familiar to Katya, but she couldn't place it until a distorted voice came out. It may sound a little off, but she would recognize that voice anywhere. Her fists clenched and her knuckles turned white when she heard the man say the name of her friend.

''Rogers, Steven. Born, 1918.''

And she fought the urge to punch the screen to pieces as the camera moved to her girlfriend next. 

''Romanoff, Natalia Alianovna. Born, 1984.''

Natasha just looked startled as this computer somehow seemed to know her name.

Katya threw the most dirty and angry look she could at the camera, but it didn't help as it spoke her name. ''Petrova, Katariina Alena. Born, 1984.'' Too angry to answer, she just stared at the screen as Natasha spoke up again. 

''It's some kind of a recording,'' she muttered confused. Nobody really understood what was going on here and nobody tried to hide the fact that they were deeply confused.

''I am not a recording, Fräulein.'' It answered angrily. If the computer could have scoffed, it would have. ''I may not be the man I was when the Captain took me prisoner in 1945, but I am.''

Finally, a picture of the man filled the screen, which finally confirmed what Katya was already thinking. It was Arnim Zola, a HYDRA scientist from before her time at the organization. But even though she had never met him in person, he was a hero within HYDRA. His picture hang in every base and there were a lot of videos from the man she had seen. 

Even though she didn't know him personally, she hated him deeply. The horrible things he did and the horrible things he encouraged over time. His experiments were the foundation of new methods of torture, the most deadly weapons on the planet and new ways to brainwash assets. Zola was the worst HYDRA presented and the one thing Katya regretted most is that she never had the chance to kill him herself. 

''Arnim Zola,'' Katya spoke slowly and dangerously. ''So nice to finally meet you in person after seeing your little home movies for years.''

The camera turned back to her after she spoke, seemingly looking her up and down before answering in a smug way. ''Ahh, it seems I have a fan. Katariina, one of HYDRA's best assets before deserting to the other side. Such a shame to see good talent go to waste.''

Before Katya could answer, Natasha interrupted, confused. It seemed like all the redhead was since stepping into this camp, was confused. ''You know this thing?''

Katya was too angry to do anything other than nod, so Steve answered for her. ''Arnim Zola was a German scientist who worked for the Red Skull. He's been dead for years.''

'First correction, I am Swiss,'' The computer corrected him angrily. ''Second, look around you. I have never been more alive. In 1972 I received a terminal diagnosis. Science could not save my body, my mind, however, that was worth saving on two hundred thousand feet of data banks. You are standing in my brain.''

So that is what all this was. It was the twentieth century version of an AI. Katya had to admit, it was kind of impressive. Even though the only thing she really wanted to do right now, was set the whole thing on fire. 

''How did you get here?'' Steve cut off his rambling, getting impatient.

''Invited,'' Zola simply answered. Katya was about to demand an explanation, but had forgotten how smart her girlfriend was and how much she knew about SHIELD's history. 

''It was Operation Paperclip after World War II,'' Natasha explained. ''SHIELD recruited German scientists with strategic value.''

''They thought I could help their cause. I also helped my own,'' Zola answered smugly.

Katya couldn't help but roll her eyes. How stupid was it of SHIELD to literally invite a HYDRA scientist within their walls? HYDRA was like a cult or a religion. People who truly believed in the cause, could never be turned. Not after ten years and not after a hundred. They should have known that a fallen HYDRA scientist would never stop believing in the cause, never stop being HYDRA. What in the world was SHIELD thinking?

''How stupid could SHIELD be?'' Katya almost yelled at no one in particular. ''Inviting HYDRA and expecting the scientists to just give up their dreams and fantasies of world domination and chaos?''

Steve looked at her confidently. ''HYDRA died with the Red Skull,'' he announced.

Katya threw her hands in the air in frustration. Everything was getting to her and the lack of sleep and food wasn't helping with her patience. ''Wake up Rogers! It never died, only went underground. I used to work for them, remember?''

‘’I am afraid Katariina is right, Captain. Cut off one head, two more shall take its place.’’

Steve turned back to the screen and almost spat at it as he answered. ‘’Prove it.’’


	36. Buried

''Prove it,'' Steve demanded Zola for evidence of the existence of HYDRA. The fact that Katya stood a couple feet away from him was apparently not enough prove that the Nazi organization he had fought in World War Two didn't go down.

There was a small moment of silence from Zola, who, if he had been real, would have probably had a very smug smile on his face. ''Accessing archive''

Katya had a bad feeling about this. She did some serious messed up things for HYDRA and those were not even the worst things the organization had done. Not a lot of people knew about all the things Katya had done, all the people she killed and tortured. That's not exactly something you flaunt with and tell someone over a cup of coffee. 

Fury knew, of course. He knew everything about everybody and Katya felt better knowing he knew and gave her a second chance anyway. 

However, her history was not something she was ever planning on sharing with Rogers. Of course he could guess what her life looked like, but he would never know the full details.

But now, the computer may show him more things she wanted him to see. 

An image popping up on one of the smaller screens on the left caught everyone's attention. Katya immediately recognized the man pictured in black and white and so did the Captain. 

Johann Schmidt, better known as Red Skull. A little on the nose if you asked Katya, but hey, he did have a red skull sooo. 

Steve took a step forward to see better and the two women followed automatically, even though Katya became nauseous at the sight of the HYDRA leader. 

''HYDRA was founded on the belief that humanity could not be trusted with its own freedom.'' Images of rows and rows of well-trained HYDRA soldiers filled the screen. All of them saluting their leader and ready to do some of the worst shit in history.

It changed to footage of the war. How the allied troops fought against HYDRA. Even de Captain could be seen for a couple seconds, leading his troops in his original blue costume. ''What we did not realize, was that if you try to take that freedom, they resist. The war taught us much. Humanity needed to surrender its freedom willingly.''

Katya had heard this a million times before. It was the same old crap every single time. Freedom this, humanity that. It was all a little overdone to her. A little tiring. But so was HYDRA.

''After the war, SHIELD was founded and I was recruited,'' Zola confirmed Natasha's previous statement about Project Paperclip. ''The new HYDRA grew. A beautiful parasite inside SHIELD.'' Natasha and Steve were shocked to say the least. Although they had their suspicions sometimes, it was now confirmed. HYDRA did indeed live within SHIELD for decades. And they had never seen anything. 

''For seventy years HYDRA has been secretly feeding crisis, reaping war. And when history did not cooperate, history was changed.''

A flash of a symbol on screen made Katya freeze in her spot, but it was gone so quickly that she didn't know if she had seen it correctly. The red star was hard to forget, but she hadn't seen it in a long time. 

Natasha, who stood beside the blonde, spoke up with confidence but also a little confusion. ''That's impossible, SHIELD would have stopped you.'' The Russian wanted to believe so badly that all this wasn't true. That she hadn't unknowingly been working for the enemy. That she hadn't helped sew chaos and fear. 

''Accidents will happen,'' Zola said smugly. And this was the moment Katya had feared. 

The Starks were the first to be shown on screen. The death of Howard and Maria was always believed to be an accident. A car hitting a tree on the side of the road with death as the result. Katya had always known better. That HYDRA was behind it. 

She never knew the details, or who actually killed them, but HYDRA was very proud of taking out one of SHIELD's founders and possibly their biggest threat. There were a lot of stories going around HYDRA about who really killed them. People making things up and then swearing they got it from a reliable source. 

Katya didn't know what to believe and to be honest, she didn't even want to think about it. From what she had heard, Howard and Maria were two very kind and loving people and it broke her heart knowing they had died such a tragic death. It was something she could never tell Tony and a secret oath was sworn between the three agents inside that creepy bunker that they would never tell their fellow Avenger what they had learned today. 

But Tony was the least of Katya's worries when the next picture came on screen. It was her own face staring back at her. Long, almost black hair and an empty look in her eyes. No wonder Natasha didn't immediately recognize her when she and Clint had found her in Serbia. She was a completely different person now. Life in her eyes and a drive to keep going. Back then, she had already given up.

Natasha gave Katya a concerned glance, but the blonde was way too focused on the screen to notice it. Afraid of what would follow that awful picture, she clenched her fists and prayed that it wasn't too bad. But her heart sunk in her shoes when her prayers were unanswered and a screen full of fire reminded her once again of her crimes. 

Katya would never forget that day. It was a Monday. A hot, humid day in the federal capital of Brazil: Brasília. The beautiful architecture of the government buildings around her, would normally have amazed her, but not today. Today she was on a mission to blow up one of those beautiful buildings. The Palácio do Planalto to be precise. 

It was the workspace of the President of Brazil, but that was not who she was aiming for that day. No, she was sent to kill the Vice President and make it look like an accident. HYDRA's main concern was to stay anonymous and hidden, so Katya couldn't go in guns blazing. 

A lot of thinking and strategic planning had gone into that mission that Katya had tried to avoid as much as possible. She didn't want to think about the best way to blow up the building with as much casualties as possible. It made her sick to think about all the innocent people who were just collateral damage in this secret war. All the families who would lose husbands and wives, mothers and daughters, fathers and sons. 

But the Vice President was SHIELD, and he had discovered something that would reveal HYDRA's existence, that would mess up their plans. So he had to go. And Katya was the one who was chosen to do it. 

HYDRA scientists had discovered a flaw in the building's ventilation system. The machinery on the roof of the building provided fresh air to the building, taking it from the air and filtering it to make sure it was clean and didn't provide a risk to the people inside. 

But the building was old and so was the system. Formulas for new types of toxic gas had been developed over the years and was too new to be detected. Just the tiniest bit of this explosive gas was enough to reach the Vice President's office, where he was known to secretly smoke a cigar every day. 

You do the math. Explosive gas plus flame equals big explosion. 

The building was too destroyed for police to figure out the cause of the explosion. It had been the perfect mission: in and out without leaving any trails behind. But Katya felt all but happy she had pulled it off perfectly. She could still feel the blast in her chest sometimes if she thought back to that day, which is why she never did.

It felt like an eternity had passed when the flames disappeared from the screen. Katya could feel Steve's judgmental eyes on her, but he also knew that it wasn't really her fault. He was conflicted about what he should be feeling. 

Natasha just looked sad, knowing all too well what it was like to do horrible things against your will. She wanted to reach out and put a comforting hand on her girlfriend's arm, but she knew Katya didn't want pity. It would just make her angry. 

Almost everyone expected the computer to start talking again after that, but it wasn't done torturing the three agents. Fury showed up on screen. Or rather, his death. 

This was the confirmation they needed. HYDRA had killed Fury. They almost knew for sure, but it was confirmed now. 

''HYDRA created a world so chaotic that humanity is finally ready to sacrifice its freedom to gain its security,'' Zola finally spoke again, showing more footage of war and the things humanity had created to feel safe: security cameras, satellites and the last thing that made Katya's neck hairs stand up. It was the largest SHIELD project in the last couple of years. Project Insight. 

It was the best example for what Zola was saying. The helicarriers would see everyone on Earth, no matter where they were. Freedom sacrificed only to gain security. Take out the bad apples before they harm the rest. 

''Once the purification process is complete, HYDRA's new world order will arise. We won, Captain.'' Rogers' jaw clenched and it was clear he had trouble containing his anger. Katya could imagine it would suck, knowing that you didn't destroy HYDRA when you thought it did. Instead, it came back to bite you in the ass. 

The biggest screen started showing newspaper headlines from 1945, after he sacrificed his life to save thousands of lives. ''Your death amounts to the same as your Life; a zero sum.''

That was when he finally snapped. Punching the screen with his fist, shattering the glass with a loud noise that made Katya jump a little. 

Everyone watched the computer expectantly, waiting to see what would happen now. Nobody was surprised that Zola's green figure appeared on another screen, more to the right. ''As I was saying...'' he continued like nothing had happened. 

But Steve was tired of his bullshit and jumped in before Zola could say anything more about chaos and death. 

''What's on this drive?'' Steve demanded.

''Project Insight requires insight. So I wrote an algorithm,'' the computer answered vaguely. But Natasha heard the word algorithm and jumped up, being the best hacker out of the three.

''What kind of algorithm? What does it do?'' she asked in the same demanding tone Rogers did. But Zola wasn't planning on answering that question.

They should have known it was a trap. Should have known that going down here and plugging in that drive would mean death. Katya knew what Zola was going to say before he said it, that familiar feeling that something was going to go terribly wrong suddenly becoming stronger and stronger. 

''The answer to your question is fascinating. Unfortunately, you shall be too dead to hear it.''

A loud rumbling from behind them made everyone turn around immediately. The elevator doors began to close and there was no way they could make it back in time. 

Steve threw his shield to try and wedge it between the doors, but he was too late. The vibranium hit the metal with a loud bang, only to return to Steve's hands. 

They were trapped inside this bunker.

And if that wasn't enough, Natasha's device from earlier started beeping in her jeans pocket. Katya, who stood close enough to read what it said on screen, widened her eyes in panic. 

''Steve, we got a bogey. Short range ballistic. Thirty seconds tops,'' Natasha informed the Captain, who was more confused than scared.

''Who fired it?'' he asked confused, as if that was the most important thing right now. 

''S.H.I.E.L.D.''

''I am afraid I have been stalling, Captain. Admit it, it's better this way. We're both of us...out of time.''

Nobody really heard what the computer was saying. Steve looked around hurryingly, trying to find a place to take cover from the bomb that was going to drop on their heads in less than twenty seconds. 

Katya was present enough to turn around and unplug the flash drive they had brought here, although it had almost cost them their lives once and maybe for real this time, the intel was way too valuable to keep lying around. If they were going to make it out of here, it was better knowing the drive was safe with them. 

A strong hand wrapped around her painless upper arm and dragged her off the platform, towards the hole in the ground Steve had found. 

Natasha and Katya jumped in just in time for Steve to put his shield above all three of them to catch the first falling rubble. The blast was so loud and powerful that Katya's ears rung and her vision started swaying. Darkness overtook quickly and the only thing she could do before she passed out was sent a little prayer that they would all be okay.


	37. Escaping (again)

Katya woke to the sound of Steve groaning and debris shifting. It was pitch-black and eerie silent and for a second her claustrophobia set in. But as everything came rushing back and the pain from her head and shoulder hit her like a ton of bricks, she was back on high alert. 

Or, well, on high alert as you can be while broken and bruised with blood streaming in your eyes from the deep gash on your forehead. She screamed in pain as a small block of concrete hit her damaged shoulder, which alerted Steve that his teammate was awake. 

''Katya?'' he hissed in the dark, not sure if it was her or her redheaded girlfriend who had woken up. 

She hummed as a response while anxiously trying to see something in the dark. Her first instinct was always to make sure Natasha was safe and alive, but the circumstances made it hard to see. She was feeling around in the dark, but all her hand touched was stone.

Steve seemed to catch on to what she was doing and gave her a strained answer while still pushing at the debris above them. ''She's still out, but she's fine.''

Suddenly, a dull, orange light fell into the hole they were buried in. Steve had managed to clear a path out and Katya had to squint her eyes against the light. She heard Rogers cough as the smoke and ash hit his lunges when he climbed out quickly, scanning the area and deciding that they had to get out of here fast. 

He turned around, looking at both women with a silent question in his eyes: could Katya get Natasha out or should he?

The blonde shook her head when her eyes met his. ''I can't carry her,'' she answered as she held her painful arm. 

Steve nodded, giving Katya his shield to hold on to, picking up Natasha carefully and stepping out of their hiding spot, the Russian following him with her teeth clenched. Everything hurt, but her head was killing her. She had to keep wiping the blood from her forehead so it wouldn't seep down and into her eyes and the throbbing of what was definitely a concussion worsened with every step.

She was drained. Both mentally and physically and needed to sleep desperately. But a whirring sound suddenly filled her ears and told her that there was no time to stop and sit. After just surviving a hit on their lives, they were in danger again. It was a never-ending cycle. 

Helicopters came closer and closer and Steve and Katya could see their bright lights scanning the area. Standard SHIELD protocol: after bombing something, always go back and check if your target is really dead. Can't make the mistake of missing and letting it come back to haunt you later.

Both agents started running, Steve in front because he was in the best shape out of them both and could possibly still fight a couple people in his state. Perks of being a super soldier.

The goal was, of course, to get out of here, and fast. The car they came in, still stood outside the gates, but getting there right away was not possible. SHIELD - or HYDRA really - agents had started fanning out and clearing the entire base, including the car they had left behind at the front gate. 

The only thing Steve and Katya could do, was hide in the woods and wait for them to leave. It would be a risk, but also gave them the opportunity to take a breath and come up with a plan on what to do next. They couldn't exactly go back to SHIELD right now, so they needed a place to hide.

They managed to sneak out and get to the tall trees that surrounded the camp. The thick canopy would shield them from the overflying helicopters and quinjets and the big trunks gave enough opportunities to hide. 

They walked for a couple of minutes until Steve decided it was far enough from camp to be safe. He stopped at a big tree and looked around for a second, before carefully setting Natasha down against it. 

Katya immediately crouched down in front of her girlfriend, her eyes scanning her body for any signs of blood or broken bones, but came up empty. No external signs of anything, but that didn't have to mean anything. You couldn't see a concussion or a broken rib. It was just waiting until she woke up.

Katya placed her good hand on Natasha's cheek in hopes of waking her up. ''Nat,'' she whispered as loud as she dared. ''Tasha, wake up,'' she tried again as nothing happened the first time. 

Steve stood behind her, trying to give her some privacy by scanning the woods around them, but hearing everything she said. ''Just give her some time. Not much to do but wait anyway.''

She knew he was right, but couldn't help but worry anyway. Sitting beside Natasha against the tree, afraid of her disappearing if Katya was too far away, she leaned her head against the wood and closed her eyes. 

Her body was fighting against the exhaustion and pain. It was fighting a battle as Katya forced it to stay awake and on high alert, but all her body wanted was to shut down and let the pain take over. She wouldn't let it. She couldn't let it. Not until this was over. Whatever this was. She didn't even know when the end would be or what the end would be. 

Her stomach rumbled and her throat was dry from the smoke in her lungs and lack of hydration. ''I would kill for some water right now,'' she said to Steve with a raspy voice, knowing he was still there even though she didn't see him. 

Katya couldn't help but feel thankful towards the soldier. He had saved their lives by shielding them from the debris and rubble, and again by getting them out of the ruins in time. She had been a bitch to him for days and knew that without him, she would have died in that bunker.

''I'm sorry.'' Her voice was awfully loud in the silence of the forest, even though it was just above a whisper. Steve stopped scanning the forest and turned his full attention on the broken woman sitting against the tree, her eyes now opened but not focused on him. 

Katya was bad with apologies and knew that if she looked at him right now, her train of thought would be lost. 

''I have been a real bitch to you these last couple of days. You saved our lives and I could never repay you for that. You saved her life and I don't know what I would do without her.'' She finally looked up, meeting his soft eyes. He had already forgiven her and knew this was hard for her but she was saying sorry anyway. 

Steve smiled as he crouched down in front of her, putting a hand on her knee that she accepted for now. ''No need to thank me. Friends look out for each other, right?''

Katja couldn't help but chuckle at that word. ''Friends? Is that what you consider me as?''

''I hope so,'' he said shyly. 

Katya was surprised to say the least. Maybe more shocked than surprised. Why would he want to be friends with her? She had nothing to offer him and had straight up bullied him for days. But on the other hand, she would like to be his friend. He was kind and easy to be around. 

She didn't have many friends. Nobody she was really close to except Clint. Just because of the fact that she trusted nobody and it is hard to build a friendship if you don't trust the other person. Friendship is about sharing, giving and taking. No friendship if all you want to do is take and not give. 

But Katya wanted to trust Steve. Like she knew deep in her bones that he was trustworthy. So she smiled at him when he spoke his wish. No longer just teammates but now friends.

A peaceful silence fell over them in the dark woods. Katya had no idea what time it was, but since they arrived not long after it went dark, it couldn't be that late. Maybe around eleven or twelve?

It was another couple of minutes until Natasha began to stir next to Katya, who sat up and kneeled in front of the redhead. ''Nat, it's okay. We're fine,'' Katya whispered to her as Natasha groaned and opened her eyes. 

''What happened?'' Natasha breathed out as her green eyes focused on Katya's face and her hand reached out to touch the gash on her forehead. 

Katya chuckled when she saw Natasha was fine. A huge weight lifted off her shoulders. ''A building fell on our heads, remember?''

Natasha ignored the joke and looked around cautiously, unsure of her surroundings and immediately on edge. ''Where are we?''

''SHIELD came to secure the wreckage and the camp. Had to flee into the woods. We're just waiting until they're gone so we can get the car and get out of here.''

Natasha nodded while feeling her own head, grimacing when she felt a bump at the back of her skull. ''Go where?''

''Uhm,'' Katya turned her head towards Steve, who shrugged unknowingly. ''We haven't figured that part out yet.''

''So what have you been doing while I was out?'' Natasha kept testing her muscles and scanning her body for injuries while she talked and came to the same conclusion that Katya had before. No visible injuries or any blood. Just some bruises and painful muscles. Something she could work with for now. 

Steve answered Natasha's question when Katya couldn't come up with a good response. ''Katya and I became friends,'' he smiled.

This caught Natasha's attention. Her head lifting up and her eyes shooting between the two agents, a raised eyebrow on her face as she tried to figure out if he was telling a joke. 

''You made friends?'' She asked Katya in a skeptical way.

''And told me she's ''sorry for being a bitch'', I think it was,'' Steve added with a sly smile.

''You made friends and apologized?'' Natasha said in fake disbelief. ''Maybe I should be unconscious more often. Could you imagine how many friends you would have.''

Katya gave Natasha a shove but couldn't help the smile that formed on her face. This was how it should be. Just three friends joking with each other in a relaxed conversation. Not three agents on the run from the organization they had dedicated their lives to. 

The smiles disappeared from their faces quickly and the seriousness of the situation came flooding back. 

Steve stood up first, his game face back on. ''We should go. They're probably gone by now.''

''Go where?'' Katya asked as she stood and extended a hand for Natasha to grab so she could pull her up. 

''I know a place. Let's just hope he is a friend.''

Natasha immediately knew who he was aiming at. ''The guy from your morning jog? Are you sure we can trust him?''

''I don't see any other options,'' he countered.

''Neither do I,'' she sighed sadly as she brushed the dirt off her jeans.

Steve led the way back to the camp, walking silently on the fallen leaves and keeping his eyes and ears open for any sign of danger. Behind him, Natasha kept eyeing Katya who held her left arm with her right while biting on her lip every time a shot of pain stabbed through it. The cut on her forehead had stopped bleeding, but there was dried blood all over her face. It looked horrible and it hurt Natasha to see her like this and knowing there was nothing she could do for her. 

Katya could feel Natasha's green eyes on her from time to time, but she was too tired to say something or think about anything else than placing one foot in front of the other. She stumbled from time to time, over fallen branches or simply over her own feet. Natasha's hands shot out every time she did, ready to catch her if necessary. 

Natasha knew they were getting close to the camp when an orange glow fell over Katya's face as she watched her. Not long after, the sound of crackling fire filled their ears, which gave Katya a shot of energy to look up from the ground and focus on her surroundings. 

The air got thicker and thicker the closer they came until they finally stood at the edge of the tree line. Natasha widened her eyes when she saw the ruins of what once was the bunker they were in. The hole in the ground and the fires that covered it. Katya knew what she was thinking. How the hell did they make it out of there alive?

They stared at it for a while, until Steve shook it off and remembered the danger they were still in. ''Car is on the other side, let's go.''

He didn't cross the open field, which would expose them too much, even though there was no one in sight anymore. Instead, he stayed in the forest surrounding the camp, walking just behind the first row of trees and circling around. 

The car was still there. Covered in some ash, but there. Steve was clearly the most fit to drive, so he walked over to the driver's side. Natasha opened the back door for Katya, who gave her a hint of a smile as she got in.

Katya didn't even bother putting her seatbelt on. All she wanted to do was sleep, so that was exactly what she did. Laying down on her right side, knees folded so she actually fit inside the car, she finally gave in to the sleep that was tugging on her body. 

The faint sound of the engine coming to life was the last thing she heard before darkness swallowed her once again.


	38. A Safe Haven

Katya woke up because someone was shaking her softly, not wanting to startle the spy too much. 

Her eyes felt like lead, glued together by the lack of sleep. Her head was throbbing, as was her shoulder, and her throat was dry as the desert in summer heat. 

''Hey, wake up, we're here,'' Natasha whispered from above, her green eyes scanning Katya's dirty and bloody face. Hopefully, Steve's friend wouldn't be scared too much by three injured spies he barely knew on his doorstep. But he was their last hope, a safe place.

They desperately needed rest, food and medicine. Fighting a war when you're only at ten percent is not a good idea. And with SHIELD, you had to be at a hundred-and-ten percent if you even wanted to have a shot at beating them.

Katya groaned as she sat up and wiped the sleep from her eyes, looking at their surroundings and trying to figure out where they were. 

It was a nice neighborhood. Small, white houses with some woods around. They were definitely on the outskirts of the capitol, but you could still hear the traffic and business of the city center. A perfect place for someone who loves the city, but doesn't want the business and traffic to deal with. Someone who prefers peace and quiet, but doesn't want to be too far away from society. 

Natasha helped Katya out of the car and kept her steady while walking up the steps to the front door. Since Steve knew the man best, he walked in the front and would probably do the talking. 

Each step seemed to be higher and Katya had to focus all her energy on lifting her feet and not falling over. She really hoped the man had some good drugs in his house and a nice comfy bed. Although at this point, she would sleep on the floor with a stone as a pillow to get some rest.

Steve looked to his right when he stopped by the door, exchanging a look with Natasha that said: are you sure? But Natasha knew there was no other option and they had to take this risk. So Steve knocked on the glass of the white, wooden door, waiting for his friend to open the door. 

He had just come back from a run, they saw him entering his house, so he was home. The bigger question was, will he let them in?

Footsteps were clearly audible as they came closer to the door, stopping just behind it. Suddenly, the blinds opened and they saw a very shocked and confused man eyeing the three people on his porch.

He didn't waste another second and opened the door, his eyes widening a little as they saw Katya's red-stained face and the dirt on their clothes. ''Hey man,'' he greeted Steve with a worried look on his face.

''I'm sorry about this. We need a place to lay low,'' Steve apologized, knowing that by bringing him into this conflict, his life was in danger too. 

''Everyone we know is trying to kill us,'' Natasha added in a low voice, her arm wrapped around Katya desperately. She almost begged him to let them in.

The man's eyes flashed between the tree of them as he contemplated on whether to trust them and let them in. But he saw that they weren't kidding and they really were desperate. 

''Not everyone,'' he finally said after a short pause, stepping aside to let them in. 

Natasha didn't waste a second and pulled Katya into the house, out of the open and away from the danger for now. Steve followed quickly behind and his friend made sure they weren't followed before closing the door and closing the blinds.

''What's going on?'' he said anxiously as he followed them to the living room, where Natasha carefully placed Katya down, who had zoned out and was in her own state. Somewhere between falling asleep and passing out.

''She's bad,'' Natasha said with a light panic in her voice, completely ignoring the man's question. ''Get me all the medicine you have and something to stitch that cut with,'' she ordered him. In any other situation, he would have frowned at the way she talked to him, but he could see how much she worried about Katya and left to do what she said without another word.

When Katya's head started falling to the side, Natasha tapped her cheek to keep her awake. ''Hey, hey, stay with me here for a minute.''

''Tired,'' Katya mumbled under her breath, just loud enough to hear. 

''I know. You can sleep after you take some medicine, okay?''

The man came back with his arms full of medicine and first aid stuff and dumped it all on the coffee table in front of the couch. Then he stalked off to get some bottles of water to swallow the pills with. 

Natasha shifted through the pile of bottles and boxes for the strongest drugs she could find and shook them in her hand, gratefully accepting the water and pushing it all into Katya's hands.

The blonde spy had just enough strength left to throw the pills in her mouth and bring the bottle to her lips. She drank the entire bottle in one go and let out a content sigh before laying down and falling asleep immediately. 

''Damn,'' the man said impressed. ''Does she always fall asleep that fast?''

Natasha let out a humorless chuckle, not really having the energy to make conversation. 

''I'm Sam, by the way,'' he introduced himself as Natasha stood up.

''Natasha,'' she replied, having no intention on shaking his hand or saying more than that.

Sam nodded, before looking over at the woman sleeping peacefully on the couch. ''And your sleeping girlfriend over there?'' He asked.

Natasha raised a questioning eyebrow. How did he figure out their relationship so quickly?

Sam laughed lightly. ''Oh, come on, I'm not blind. I see the way you look at her.'' 

''Katya,'' Natasha finally answered, grabbing a bottle of water herself and sitting down into the chair next to the couch, keeping a close eye on her girlfriend. That cut will have to be cleaned and stitched closed, but it could wait for a minute. She didn't want to risk waking Katya just when she was sleeping so peacefully.

Steve, who knew that Natasha was done with the conversation, cleared his throat to get Sam's attention and keeping him away from Natasha for a while. ''Again, I'm really sorry about this. We didn't want to bring you into this, but we have nowhere else to go.''

''Ah, that's okay, man. I couldn't exactly say no to Captain America,'' he joked. ''But would anybody please tell me what's going on now and why I have a sleeping, injured, drugged, woman on my couch?''

Steve explained everything to Sam as Natasha cleaned herself up in the guest bathroom. Well, everything but a little summarized. He left some non-essential parts out and gave him enough so he understood the situation and why they had come to him.

''A whole building collapsed on your heads?'' Sam asked in disbelief when Steve told him about the bunker. ''And you're still alive? Well, at least now I know why you all look like you've clawed your way out of a grave.''

Natasha walked into the room without any warning, seeing the two men sitting around the coffee table, talking quietly and keeping an eye on Katya. ''Your turn,'' she said to Steve, taking her place next to Katya again. 

She wasn't gonna lie, she was tired as well. And the sight of her girlfriend sleeping so peacefully made it even more tempting to look for the guest bedroom herself. But she feared if she gave in now, her body would shut down and there was no way she could fight. 

Steve disappeared into the bathroom and Sam said he would make some food for them, so it was just her and Katya in the room. A glance at the clock on the wall told her they had been here an hour. The sun had come up hours ago and another night had passed.

Natasha listened to Katya's breathing, the ticking of the clock, the running water in the bathroom and Sam rummaging in the kitchen. It was peaceful, and for a while it felt like she could breathe again. Until all her thoughts came rushing back. 

When you finally sit down and relax, everything that happened previously comes crashing in. It was surreal and hard to believe that everything that happened was real. That HYDRA had been inside SHIELD for decades. That they all had been working for HYDRA, and they had actually been the bad guys while believing to be the good ones. 

She never became 'good'. She never bettered her life, only traded one evil organization for the other. 

Natasha was so lost in her own head that she didn't notice Steve walking into the room, having cleaned up and looking a lot more alive. ''You okay?'' He asked when he saw her staring at the coffee table, completely zoned out.

Her head shot up, acting like nothing was going on. ''Yeah,'' Natasha said, trying to sound convincing, but Steve saw right through her, something he couldn't with her before.

Natasha sighed when she saw that Steve didn't believe her and walked over to her instead, sitting on the table in front of her so they saw face to face and Natasha had no other option than to look at him.

''What's going on?'' He asked gently, not wanting to push any wrong buttons but caring about if she was okay.

Katya stirred in her sleep, woken by the sudden noise in the room. She opened her eyes slightly to see what was going on, but shut them immediately when she saw Natasha and Steve having what looked like a serious conversation. It was not nice to eavesdrop, but she wanted to know what Natasha would say without any interference from her. 

It was silent for a while. Probably Natasha deciding whether she was going to be honest or wave his concerns away. She surprised even Katya when an honest answer came out of her mouth. ''When I first joined SHIELD, I thought I was going straight. But I guess I just traded in the KGB for HYDRA. I thought I knew whose lies I was telling, but...I guess I can't tell the difference anymore.''

For a second, Katya's decision to stay silent faltered, wanting nothing more than to reach out and grab her hand. But she knew Steve, and she knew that he would come up with some way to cheer her up and make her feel better. Even though everything Natasha just said was true and Katya felt the exact same.

''There's a chance you might be in the wrong business,'' Steve answered jokingly, using her own words from earlier against her. Natasha answered with a disbelieving scoff before the conversation fell silent again.

Katya almost thought the conversation was over altogether, about to open her eyes, when Natasha spoke again. ''I owe you,'' she whispered. And there was no explanation necessary to what she meant.   
Steve knew what she was talking about and so did Katya. They had that conversation earlier.

''It's okay,'' Steve dismissed statement her gently.

''If it was the other way around, and it was down to us to save your life, and you be honest with me, would you trust us to do it?'' This was a big question to ask. Steve knew about all the lies they told. The double agendas and the secrets. He didn't know who they were and if you don't know someone, you can't trust them. And apparently, Natasha really wanted for Steve to trust her. And if Katya was honest to herself, so did she. 

''I would now,'' Steve answered honestly and almost immediately. ''And I'm always honest.''

Natasha was clearly done with the emotional stuff and turned back into her own, sarcastic self. ''Well, you seem pretty chipper for someone who just found out they died for nothing.''

''Well, I guess I just like to know who I'm fighting.''

''I made breakfast. If you guys... eat that sort of thing,'' Sam interrupted their conversation and Katya had to force herself not to smile or chuckle at his comment. She decided to like the guy. He was funny and let three total strangers into his home. Well, they were not total strangers, they were the Avengers, but still.

''Go ahead,'' Natasha said to Steve. ''I'll catch up with you.''

There was some rustling and some fading footsteps until it was quiet again. ''You can open your eyes now, Katya.''

Katya groaned as she opened her eyes and turned on her back, stretching her stiff legs and back, already feeling the soreness set in. ''Damn, you knew I was awake the whole time?''

A smile formed on Natasha's lips as she watched her wake up on the couch. ''You forget that I sleep next to you every night and I know what you look like when you're sleeping. You woke up right after Steve walked in.''

''Three days without a job and I'm already losing my touch,'' Katya joked as she tried to sit up. ''Well you look better,'' she said as she eyed Natasha's clean face and hair, the red strands still wet from the shower and a little darker because of it. It also started curling slightly, her own hairstyle that she suppressed by straightening her hair every morning. Katya had complained a lot, telling her that she loved the curls, but it was no use. Natasha was just as stubborn as her.

''You don't,'' Natasha said concerned, looking at the cut on her forehead and the dark circles under her eyes.

''Jeez, thanks Nat,'' Katya countered sarcastically as she felt at the cut on her head, her hand coming back with dried blood on it.

Natasha completely ignored Katya and continued staring at her concerned. Like a mother whose daughter fell out of a tree. ''How do you feel?''

''Like a building fell on top of me.''

Natasha looked at her with a look that said: really? ''At least you didn't lose your sense of humor.'' She stood up, extending a hand to help Katya up from the couch. ''Let’s get that stitched and get you cleaned up. You look like a building fell on top of you.''

''I hate you,'' Katya said with a glare as she accepted Natasha's help and started making their way over to the bathroom.

''No, you don't.''

''No, I don't.''


	39. Throwing People Off Roofs

Katya felt a little bit better after she was clean and her injuries were looked at. Natasha had stitched up the cut on her forehead and Sam, who had medical training, had looked at her shoulder. He had told her there was nothing he could really do from his end, but it was important to not put any strain on it and keep it as still as possible. 

He insisted that the best way to ensure that, was to wear a sling. So Katya was stuck with a sling again and she hated it. It made her feel weak and helpless. But she also knew that ignoring Sam's advice would only make the pain worse, so she did as he said with minimal protest and then finally made her way to the kitchen, where the smell of fresh baked pancakes filled her nose.

Sam watched with big eyes and an impressed look on his face how Katya ate one pancake after the other with only one hand. Nobody spoke about what had happened as they ate. It was the calm before the storm. This moment was reserved for relaxing and they all wanted to put off the inevitable for a little longer. It was just some small talk back and forth. Mostly between Steve and Sam about Sam's life and his time in the army.

But eventually, the pancakes were all gone and everyone's plates were empty. And of course, Natasha was the first one to get back to business. Never one to beat around the bush for too long. 

She leaned back in her chair, her eyes flickering between the three other people in the kitchen. ''So, the question is: who in SHIELD could launch a domestic missile strike?'' 

She knew who it was. Everyone knew who it was. She just wanted to see if the others would agree and think the same thing she did.

''Pierce,'' Steve answered immediately as Natasha stood up and started pacing. Katya nodded her head in agreement. Pierce was the new director now, he could do anything and could definitely order a missile strike. It was still a shock to all of them that he was HYDRA and it was scary to think how he was controlling one of the biggest organizations in the world now.

''Who happens to be sitting on top of the most secure building in the world,'' Natasha said. It made everyone feel a little powerless. How were they going to get to Pierce? Storming the building wasn't an option. This mission required stealth and had to be thought through carefully. They were the last line of defense and the only people outside shield who really knew what was going on. 

Katya thought about it for a second and realized they had to start somewhere else. ''But he's not working alone, Zola's algorithm was on the Lemurian Star.'' Someone had to have installed it there, someone working with Pierce.

Natasha's eyes widened in realization as she figured out who the mole on that ship was. ''So was Jasper Sitwell.''

Katya pulled a disgusted face at the thought of the man. ''Ugh, I'm not surprised. Always hated that guy.''

Her comment was ignored as Steve spoke again. ''So, the real question is: how do the three most wanted people in Washington kidnap a SHIELD officer in broad daylight?''

Sam, who had been quiet the whole time because he didn't know what they were talking about, walked around the table and dropped something in front of Steve. ''The answer is: you don't.''

Katya leaned forward in her chair when she saw it was a file that Sam had dramatically dropped down. A big picture lay on top. Sam in some sort of combat suit and another guy next to him. It all looked very official so it no doubt had to do anything with Sam's time in the army.

''What's this?'' Steve asked as he stood up to level with Natasha, who looked at the folder with interest.

''Call it a resume,'' Sam answered confidently.

Natasha wasted no time in grabbing the picture on top and of course, being the smart person she was, knew exactly where it was taken and what it was. ''Is this Bakhmala? The Khalid Khandil mission, that was you?'' She asked Sam, who didn't have to answer as it was clear it was him in the picture.

Honestly, Katya had heard of the mission, but she couldn't remember exactly what it was about. It wasn't a SHIELD matter, the US Army took care of it, so she had only heard little about it. Natasha, however, kept up with any big missions taking place on foreign soil. She said it was important to know what was going on and monitor the situation there. Even if it wasn't a SHIELD matter now, it could become one.

''You didn't say he was a para-rescue,'' Natasha said to Steve as she handed him the picture. 

Steve looked down at the picture and had no problem figuring out who the other man in the photo was. ''Is this Riley?''

''Yeah,'' Sam said sadly. Katya didn't have to ask to know what had happened to his friend, the look of loss in his eyes was something she had seen hundreds of times. 

''I heard they couldn't bring in the choppers because of the RPGs,'' Natasha remembered. ''What did you use, a stealth chute?'' She asked Sam. 

''No,'' he denied, moving to the table to pick up the file and hand it to Steve. ''These.''

Katya was way too curious to see what was inside the folder and moved to her feet herself, walking over to stand beside Steve to see what was so interesting and why Steve had such a confused look on his face. 

Inside were pictures and schematics of some kind of bird suit. That was the only way Katya could think off to describe the suit. It had wings, which made it able for the person wearing the suit to fly.   
''Cool,'' she whispered, although everyone heard it and Sam chuckled at her comment.

''I thought you said you were a pilot,'' Steve said to Sam, probably referring to a conversation they had had earlier.

Sam just smiled, knowing he impressed Captain America. ''I never said pilot.''

Steve shook his head and that concerned crease formed between his eyebrows. Katya saw he was hesitant about accepting Sam's offer. Something was holding him back and her guess was it had something to do with Riley. ''I can't ask you to do this, Sam. You got out for a good reason.''

''Dude, Captain America needs my help. There's no better reason to get back in.'' Katya couldn't help but smile at their new friend. She liked Sam, he was easygoing and funny and the fact that he took three fugitives into his home without too many questions told her that he was trustworthy as well. He was definitely a keeper.

''Welcome to the club, birdman,'' Katya smiled at Sam, who rolled his eyes at her nickname but was happy to be accepted and to be able to help.

''Where can we get our hands on one of these things?'' Steve asked, gesturing to the suit. If Sam were to join their little team, he was most valuable with his suit. So no matter what, they had to get it for him.

Sam turned serious and Katya knew that meant it wasn't in his basement under an inch of dust. ''The last one is at Fort Meade, behind three guarded gates and a twelve-inch steel wall.'' Great, another task to add to their already growing list. Although Fort Meade isn't SHIELD and it's not too hard to get it. They broke into more difficult places in their time.

Steve looked at Natasha, who looked at Katya to see if she thought the same. When the blonde spy shrugged her shoulders, Natasha did the same. They could get the suit. ''Shouldn't be a problem,'' Steve assured Sam, who looked impressed and a little terrified of the two women in his kitchen.

Getting the suit did turn out to be quite easy. Apparently only SHIELD was looking for the Black Widow and not the rest of America, so Natasha played the 'Avenger'-card and got what she wanted. She always got what she wanted and to be honest, the guards were too afraid of her to even think about saying no. 

Katya thought the whole thing was really funny and had trouble hiding her smile when the guards saw who was walking into their facility. If they knew how much different Natasha was around her, it would mess up her whole reputation.

Back at Sam's, they had already figured out where Sitwell was. Using Sam's computer to access Sitwell's calendar on his phone and trace the signal was quite easy. The HYDRA agent was tailing Senator Stern for the rest of the morning to some sort of event, so all they had to do was wait by the front door and intercept Sitwell when he came out. Preferably without being seen, so Sam was the one who would call and grab the man, since he didn't know who he was.

Natasha, Steve and Katya took point in a building across the street, where Natasha had set up her sniper rifle. The gun was just meant to scare Sitwell and not to kill him, which would attract a lot of unwanted attention. They just had to scare him enough to get him to go with Sam, who was sitting at a café with a clear visual on the door. 

When they were all set, it was just waiting for their target to come out. Going on missions a lot, Katya had no trouble sitting still for hours on end on a stakeout, but every second they wasted right now, was another second for SHIELD to come closer to finding them. So she did her best to stay still and not pace back and forth, but that was easier said than done. 

''Will you please stop pacing?'' Natasha finally said after a couple minutes of Katya walking back and forth behind her. She was staring through the scope of her rifle, which was aimed at the door, ready to act.

Katya sighed but stopped moving and walked over to the window, scanning the street for unusual activity. ''I'm sorry, it's just that I have a bad feeling about all of this.''

Natasha finally looked up from her gun for the first time in ten minutes to look at Katya, her eyes turning soft for a second. ''I know you do, but it's going to be fine. I promise.''

''Something is happening,'' Steve interrupted their moment, pulling them back to the mission at hand. 

People started walking out of the building. Lots of men in suits. Your typical middle-aged white dudes in expensive looking clothing with smug looks on their faces. This was definitely a crowd for Sitwell.  
He wasn't very hard to spot. First of all because of the eight security guys surrounding him and Senator Stern, and second of all because of his bald head. Natasha also spotted him quickly, aiming her gun and following him closely. 

They didn't have a way to listen in to the conversation between Sitwell and the Senator as they spoke, but it wasn't hard to imagine what they were saying. Especially when the Senator pointed to a pin on Sitwell's jacket and leaned in to whisper in his ear. 

The second Sitwell was alone, his phone started ringing. Natasha programmed Sam's phone in such a way that Sitwell thought he was getting a call from Pierce. And the big boss of HYDRA is not someone you just ignore. 

From the window, they saw how Sitwell retrieved his phone from his pocket and how his eyes widened when he saw who was calling him. He turned to say something to one of his security guys, who all walked away to give him some privacy. Then he accepted the call, clearly startled when it wasn't Pierce's voice on the other side.

Natasha turned on the laser on her gun, which created a steady, red dot on Sitwell's tie. If there was one thing the man was, it was selfish. No way was he not going to save his own ass. He would do anything to stay alive and if that meant betraying HYDRA, he would do it. He was very predictable like that. So nobody was really surprised when he did go with Sam after he looked around frantically, trying to find the origin of the red dot. 

Natasha was smiling smugly from behind her gun and started packing it up as soon as Sitwell sat in the car with Sam. Now they just had to make their way to the roof of the building and wait for them. 

Everything went according to plan so far. Get Sitwell up to the roof and get him talking, no matter what it takes. Although it might be kind of easy this time.

Natasha led the way to the stairs and pushed a door that said 'Roof: Do not enter' open. The wind was moderate, but not too hard. There won't be any accidental falling off the roof. 

''Now is probably a bad time to mention I am afraid of heights,'' Katya said as they made their way to the middle of the roof. 

''If you fall, Sam will catch you,'' Natasha said matter-of-factly.

Katya looked at her dryly. ''Wow, thanks. That makes me feel a lot better.''

Steve walked up to them after having scanned the roof for any unwanted visitors. ''Alright, roof is clear, let's wait for them by the door.''

It wasn't long before they heard Sitwell's tiring rambling and Sam telling him to shut up and keep walking. Sitwell's eyes almost fell out of his eye sockets when he saw the three Avengers waiting for him at the top of the stairs. Steve grabbed his collar and yanked him up the last couple of stairs and threw him through the door, causing Sitwell to fall and roll over the roof.

''Tell me about Zola's algorithm,'' Steve demanded in a harsh tone, signaling Sitwell there were no time for jokes.

Sitwell hastily stood up and placed his glasses on his face, backing up as the three walked towards him in a threatening way. ''Never heard of it,'' he lied.

''What were you doing on the Lemurian Star?'' Steve pressed, not taking any of Sitwell's bullshit. 

Sitwell kept backing up and nearing the edge of the roof. ''I was throwing up, I get seasick.'' Just as he spoke the words, the back of his knees hit the edge of the roof and he gasped loudly, mowing with his arms to try and keep his balance. He would have definitely fallen off if Steve hadn't caught his collar again and saved his ass.

Katya could see in his eyes that Sitwell was scared as hell, but he tried to keep up the act and act all cool and tough. But he wasn't fooling any of them.

''Is this little display meant to insinuate that you're gonna throw me off the roof? Because it's really not your style, Rogers.''

''You're right. It's not.'' Steve let go of Sitwell, playing along, smoothing out his jacket before suddenly stepping aside. ''It's hers.''

Natasha wasted no time in kicking the man full in the chest, sending him over the edge and down the building. He was screaming like a five year old, which made Katya smile in satisfaction. 

''Damn, that was really hot,'' she mumbled to herself to tease Natasha, who threw her a dirty look before turning to Steve.

''Oh, wait. What about that girl from accounting, Laura... Lis-?'' Natasha tried to remember the name of the girl down at accounting, who she thought was maybe nice for Steve. Apparently they were still trying to land him a date.

''Lillian,'' Steve remembered. ''Lip piercing, right?''

''Yeah, she's cute,'' Natasha tried to convince him to ask her out.

Katya whipped her head to the side when she heard what her girlfriend said. ''Hey!''

The little smirk she got as an answer told her that the comment was completely intentional.

Steve ignored her little outburst and waved Natasha's suggestion away. ''Yeah, I'm not ready for that.'' 

Everyone looked back to the city when Sitwell's screams started becoming louder again. A sign that Sam had indeed caught him and was bringing him back up. If he wasn't talking now, Katya would be surprised. 

And indeed, as soon as Sam dropped him on the roof, Sitwell's hands shot up in surrender and he began rambling information. ''Zola's algorithm is a program...for choosing Insight's targets!''

The poor man sat on his knees on the roof, trying to catch his breath, absolutely terrified. Katya was enjoying every second of it and so were the others. Even Sam, who didn't know the man, could see he was a rat. 

''What targets?'' Steve demanded. And this time, Sitwell wasted no time in answering, too afraid he'd be thrown off the roof again.

''You! Her!'' He looked and gestured towards Katya, who was taken aback but not surprised by that information. Natasha however, was not happy that Katya was on HYDRA's kill list. 

''A TV anchor in Cairo, the Undersecretary of Defense, a high school valedictorian in Iowa city. Bruce Banner, Stephen Strange, anyone who's a threat to HYDRA! Now, or in the future.''

Steve was confused by the last part. ''The Future? How could it know?''

Sitwell laughed as if it was very obvious. ''How could it not?'' He slowly got up, which meant everyone was on edge again and Sam moved a little closer to take him out of he tried anything. 

''The 21st century is a digital book. Zola taught HYDRA how to read it.'' Katya knew what he meant. Everything was online these days. All your information about your life, your work, relationships. It wasn't hard to collect it all and predict how people would choose or act in the future. 

Apparently, Sitwell saw that Natasha and Steve didn't quite get it, so he rambled on. ''Your bank records, medical histories, voting patterns, e-mails, phone calls, your damn SAT scores. Zola's algorithm evaluates people's past to predict their future.''

''And what then?'' Steve pressed further, wanting to know what HYDRA would possibly want with all that information.

Sitwell started panicking and mumbling to himself. ''Oh, my God. Pierce is gonna kill me.''

This time, it was Katya who was done with all the stalling and the rambling. She stepped forward in a threatening way, getting in his face. ''What then!?''

''Then the Insight Helicarriers scratch people off the list. A few million at a time.''

''Oh for fuck's sake, do we ever get a breather?''


	40. Face To Face

They stole a new car. Or, 'borrowed' as Steve liked to say to make himself feel better. 

They had quickly come up with a plan to infiltrate HQ and stop the launch of those helicarriers. It wasn't the best plan, but there were no other options than to literally walk into the building. Not through the front door, but you get the concept. It wasn't even a question if they were going to get caught, it was more a when. Hopefully after they were able to rain on HYDRA's parade. 

Sitwell was crammed in between Natasha and Katya in the backseat and was trying to make himself as small as possible. That wasn't easy in the little car. Katya's shoulder was being pushed against the door and she had to bite her lip every time they took a right turn and the G-forces crushed her even more. 

Everyone was uneasy and that resulted in more bickering and heated arguing. Nothing that benefitted the already tense atmosphere in the car. 

Sam, who had been appointed as the driver, tried to keep as silent as possible because he only knew them for a couple hours, but Katya could see on his face that he had some opinions of his own. And after the hundredth time of Sitwell whining about everything, he had had enough.

''HYDRA doesn't like leaks,'' Sitwell announced in the middle of a rare moment of silence.

Katya groaned and was about to shut him up when Sam did it for her. Sitwell was giving her a massive headache and she hated that his body was forced against her in the tiny car. It made her cringe and she couldn't wait to get out of this. 

''So why don't you try sticking a cork in it.''

A faint smile is the best Katya could give Sam, who looked pretty smug at his little joke. She swore they had the same humor and hoped that he would stick around after this. Whatever would come after this. If they were even alive.

Katya could see from the corner of her eye that Natasha checked her watch. Sitwell had given them everything after they had threatened to continue throwing him off the rooftop until he started talking. It didn't take much after that for him to give them all the details concerning the launch. Time, place, how it all worked exactly. 

The task itself wasn't that hard. Sneak into the building, which they could use Sitwell for, let Natasha work her magic on the computers to stop the launch permanently and hopefully take out some HYDRA in the meantime. Time was their biggest enemy though. What a surprise. 

''Insight's launching in sixteen hours, we're cutting it a little bit close here.'' Natasha leaned forward, over Steve's shoulder who was sitting in the passenger's seat, so she could talk to him better. 

Steve nodded and answered her a little stressed. ''I know. We'll use him to bypass the DNA scans and access the Helicarriers directly.''

But Katya was only half focused on his words. A familiar feeling started swirling in her stomach. A nervous, uneasy feeling that told her something was wrong or was going to go wrong soon. And it wasn't this mission in general, this was anxiety on top of her already existing anxiety. ''Guys, something is wrong,'' she said worryingly, but halfway through her sentence, Sitwell yelled over her words.

''What?! Are you crazy? That is a terrible, terrible idea,'' he answered Steve. Those would be the last words he would ever speak, because a loud thud on the roof confirmed Katya's suspicions: they were in danger again. 

She had just enough time to duck before a big fist smashed through the window next to her head and grabbed the HYDRA Agent by his jacket, pulling him out of his seat and through the broken window in one, alarmingly easy motion. And Katya knew why. There was no missing the metal the arm was covered in. Or in this case, the arm was made of. 

The Winter Soldier was back. And this time, he wasn't working with her. He was there to kill her.

Sitwell was thrown into oncoming traffic, never to be seen again, which ruined their whole plan of getting into HQ unseen. But stopping the launch was currently the least of their problems, when the man on the roof started shooting down, the bullets easily finding their way through the thin metal and into the car. 

Natasha wasted no time and climbed on Steve's lap in the front seat to avoid the bullets raining down on her. But Katya was way too enabled with her shoulder to do the same, so she rolled herself into a little ball and crammed herself into the space behind Sam's seat, which came with a lot of whimpers and pain-filled groans. 

Suddenly, the car came to a screeching halt when someone pulled the break handle and Katya could hear the soldier on the roof tumble off. She crawled out of her hole and stared in shock at the man she hadn't seen in years, but never forgot. 

His coldness, strength and danger made her more terrified of him than she had ever been of a person. Although it was questionable if you could even call this empty shell of a man in front of the car still a person. Whoever he once was, whoever he had been, had been pulled out of his body and destroyed. This was a soldier, a killer, nothing more and definitely nothing less.

It felt like the whole world had stopped moving, frozen in time, as everyone in the car watched the Winter Soldier stand up from the asphalt, cars speeding past him. A mask covered the bottom half of his face and goggles his eyes. Long hair indicated that personal care was not of any importance to him.

Natasha was the first one to snap out of the trance. She pointed her gun at him and was ready to shoot when a big car hit theirs from behind, causing the weapon to fall from her hand. Everyone was jolted to the front as they were pushed forwards, with Sam desperately trying to steer away but without any luck.

The Winter Soldier jumped back on the roof of their car as Sam stomped on the brakes and Natasha tried to find her gun which lay somewhere at Steve's feet. It was such chaos that Katya for once in her life didn't have a solution or a way out of this situation. That may also have something to do with the man on top of their car and the fact that she knew how powerful he was. 

Everything came rushing back the moment she saw his metal arm and the memories she had carefully stored away surfaced all at once. The mission she had done with the Winter Soldier had been a nasty one, full of bloodshed and murder, the part she hated about herself the most. 

Katya tried desperately to shake it all off and focus on the threat in the present when suddenly a loud smash pulled her out of her head. The metal fist had punched through the windscreen and grabbed the steering wheel. With one big pull, it came free from the car and was thrown out in quite a similar fashion Sitwell was earlier. 

''Shit!'' Sam yelled loudly as he felt the wheel slip from his hands. Now they were truly done for. Without a way to steer the car, there was no other option than to leave the vehicle and Katya could already feel the bruises and cuts that would come with that. 

Natasha started shooting at the roof, but the Winter Soldier had already jumped off, on the car behind them. Without any way to steer the car, it dangerously swerved from left to right on the highway. To make things worse, the HYDRA car behind them drove into the car from behind again, which caused it to hit the crash barrier. 

Katya could feel the vehicle was about to topple over so when Steve grabbed his shield and pulled Sam and Natasha closer to him, she wasted no time in jumping forwards and grabbing Sam's shoulders. Whatever Steve was planning, it was a way out of this death box and after all the missions she had done with Steve and all the times he had had her back, she trusted him enough to get them out of there safely. 

''Hang on!'' Steve yelled before ramming his shield into the door, causing it to fall off the car and the four fugitives to slide over the concrete on the piece of metal that was clearly not big enough for two big men and two women. 

The scraping of metal on stone made the most horrible sound ever as they sped over the highway. The car they had just been sitting in, fell apart around them as it crashed over and over again. 

Katya could feel Sam starting to slip away, unable to keep his grip on the door. And because she was holding onto Sam, they both rolled off the door at a high speed. When she finally came to a still, black spots clouded her vision but Katya refused to give in to the darkness. This was not the right moment to pass out. It would definitely mean death for her. 

Sam grabbed her arm and pulled her up from the ground, running to take cover as Katya heard the unmistakable sound of a grenade launcher behind her. From the corner of her eye, she could see Steve pushing Natasha out of the way and the grenade hitting his shield hard, causing him to fly off the overpass and onto the street below. Any normal person would be dead after such a fall, but Steve being the perfect super soldier would have probably survived that. 

Katya could see Natasha take cover behind a car next to the one she and Sam were hiding behind, and it took a lot of willpower to stay where she was and not sprint over to her. Of course, Natasha could take care of herself, but together they were always better than alone. Although in Katya's current state, she wasn't so sure of that.

''Are you good?'' Sam yelled over the sound of gunshots to the blonde spy, who had crouched down beside him. 

''Define 'good','' she said through clenched teeth. She hated that she couldn't do more. She felt useless in this fight and would only be slowing Sam down. 

Bullets kept raining down on the car as the one next to them exploded in a ball of fire. Katya's heart stopped in her chest for a second when she thought she had lost her girlfriend, but she caught a glimpse of red hair disappearing behind the barrier and cars honking on the other side of the highway. 

Knowing Natasha could handle herself, Katya focused on keeping herself and Sam alive. The adrenaline had really started kicking in and she felt more energized than before. She stood up, grabbed Sam's arm and started running further away from the gunmen, heading for another car a little farther away.

''You still have that knife?'' She yelled over the noise as they ran. Sam still had some weapons from his army days laying in his home, so they had taken them with them when they left, knowing they would probably come in handy. Sam had taken a small knife that was perfect for up-close fighting and in this case, would be the perfect way to confiscate one perfectly good rifle from one of the HYDRA soldiers on the highway. 

Sam gave Katya the knife as they waited patiently for the right moment to strike. One by one, the soldiers dropped down to the street below, where Steve and Natasha were trying to stay alive and the Winter Soldier was doing everything he could to prevent that. When there were just two agents left on the overpass, Katya snuck up behind them.

She wasted no time in killing the first one, stabbing the knife in his neck with a quick motion. She hated doing this in front of Sam, also since she was more of the 'capture not kill' way now, but with Steve and Natasha's life on the line, there was no time to waste. 

The second agent saw his friend fall to the floor in a puddle of blood and stared to turn around. But Katya was quick to kick the back of his knees, causing him to stumble and lose balance. Grabbing the rifle around his shoulder with her hand, she kicked him off the overpass with one powerful kick to the chest. 

Katya tossed the rifle to Sam and picked up the one from the dead guy on the floor. ''Sorry about that,'' she apologized when she saw him looking at the body with a frown. 

''Yeah, no time to waste,'' he answered as he positioned the rifle against his shoulder and peeked over the edge to the road below. Steve was being attacked by four gunmen right below them. He had fit his whole body behind his shield and had found a way to aim the deflecting bullets back to the shooters, successfully taking out two.

''I got him, you find her!'' Sam aimed his gun at the third one while Katya was still looking for a certain flock of red somewhere. 

Through the smoke from the explosions and the running civilians everywhere, Katya could just make out the large figure of the Winter Soldier making his way down the street. She aimed her gun at the back of his head, ready to kill him once she had a clear shot. But that shot didn't come. 

There were so many civilians in her shot and the further away he walked, the more her chance at a killer shot disappeared. She had to get closer. And the only way to do that was to drop down with the ropes and walk straight through the battle field below.


	41. Finally Caught

Katya's feet hit the ground with a soft thud and she wasted no time in taking cover. Shots were still heavily fired and the last thing she could use right now was more pain. 

Knowing Steve and Sam could handle their own guys, she made her way down the street where she saw the Winter Soldier disappear. He was the real target here, the others were just your basic HYDRA thugs, not even worth the bullets in your gun. 

Katya kept her body low as she walked behind the row of parked cars and the rifle in her hand ready. It was inconvenient to have such a big gun on her, but she had to make do with what she could find. 

Besides, this way, she didn't have to come too close to her target to take him out. 

A big explosion from a grenade nearby made her jump. Daring to peek over the car, she aimed her gun at the source of the sound and saw the Winter Soldier standing in the middle of the street, staring at the car he just blew up, like he was waiting for something. 

What he probably didn't expect was Natasha running out from behind a car on his six and jumping on his shoulders. Immediately, Katya knew the spy was in trouble. 

Whatever they had done to the man at HYDRA, had made him inhumanly strong. He was definitely as strong as Steve was. Add a mechanical arm to that mix and you get a beast of a man with the strength of a couple lions. Not someone a small, slim woman like her or Natasha could ever beat on strength alone. 

Katya aimed her gun, but there was too much struggling to get a clear shot and the last thing she wanted was to accidently shoot her own girlfriend. So she lowered her gun and ran over to them quickly, just in time to see the Winter Soldier throw Natasha off his shoulders and against the car he just blew up. 

The blonde Russian stopped, positioned the gun against her shoulder and aimed at the back of the soldier's head, ready to put a bullet through his skull. But Natasha hadn't seen her and didn't know what she was planning. She ruined Katya's shot by getting one of her Widow Bites from her pocket and throwing it at the soldier's metal arm, just as he was about to shoot her. 

The disk attached itself to the metal and electrocuted it, causing the man to be momentarily distracted, which gave Natasha enough time to run away. 

This gave Katya a dilemma: take out the Winter Soldier while she could, or go after Natasha. But she couldn't pass up such a good opportunity to kill the man and her body had made the decision before her mind completely agreed on it. Her finger was on the trigger and the rifle aimed at his head.

She breathed out and shot, but the moment the bullet left the gun, she knew she had missed. 

The Winter Soldier had ripped off the Widow Bite and had spotted Katya from the corner of his eye. The bullet bounced off his metal arm when he raised it to block and that's how she knew she was screwed now too. 

Katya wasted no time in turning around and running away, towards the direction Natasha had disappeared in too. Normally, she would stay and fight, but like Natasha had demonstrated before, fighting the big guy was not an option for Katya. At least not for her, right now, alone, in her condition. 

Bullets hit the cars next to her as she ran past them and desperately tried to take cover somewhere. The last thing she wanted was to lead him to the civilians, but they were everywhere, running around in a panic. 

She couldn't see or hear Natasha over the shouting, shooting and explosions, so the only thing she could really do is save her own skin right now. Katya hated that she couldn't do more, but she would be of no use to anyone if she was dead. Or worse, captured. 

Finally, she saw a good place to hide. Behind a larger, tougher SUV that would definitely catch some bullets first instead of letting them straight through. 

The Winter Soldier had stopped shooting at her and it turned awfully quiet from his side. The tension was almost getting too much until she heard one single shot, followed by a familiar yell Katya could distinguish from all the other voices around her: Natasha. 

Her heart stopped when Katya imagined all the places the Winter Soldier could have shot her and panic threatened to take over for a second, but she pushed it down quickly. Panicking wouldn't make anything better and would only prevent her from doing her job. Which was killing the man so focused on taking their lives. 

Katya stood behind the SUV and turned in the direction of the gunshot she had heard. It didn't take long to find the guilty party. He had literally jumped on top of a car to get a clear shot at someone Katya couldn't see from where she was standing, but it wasn't hard to guess who it was. 

More fueled than ever to take him out, she grabbed her stolen rifle again and this time she aimed at the man's chest, considering it was much larger than his head and way more easy to hit. With all the smoke in the air and the shaking of her hands, it would be the best chance.

She wasted no time and shot. This time, her bullet found its target. It lodged itself into the soldier's flesh arm, but it did less than Katya wished it would. To be completely honest, it didn't do much of anything. Like he wasn't even bothered by the projectile in his arm. What it did do, was distract him for just a moment. That was when another person, who Katya had completely forgot about, entered the fight. Someone who could actually take him on. Steve.

Katya wasted no time in watching the show. After the first few seconds, she knew Steve could take him. So she went for the person she knew would actually need her and could use her help.

She slalomed between cars and people, keeping a half eye on Steve and his opponent to make sure he was still distracted and ran to the car she believed Natasha sat behind. If she hadn't moved yet.

Turned out she didn't and was still alert enough to instinctively aim her gun at Katya when she suddenly materialized next to her, dropping it immediately when she saw who it really was. 

''You scared the shit out of me,'' Natasha breathed as she relaxed against the side of the car. Her hand pressed firmly against her left shoulder, which indicated that she was shot there.

Katya ignored Natasha's comment and crept over to her left side, pushing her hand away and applying pressure with her own hands to the gunshot wound. ''You okay?'' She asked her as Natasha groaned at the pain that shot through her shoulder as Katya tried to keep the blood from pouring out.

''Nothing I can't handle,'' Natasha replied. Katya noted that she already looked pale from the blood loss and her eyes had trouble focusing. This needed to be closed, fast, otherwise she would bleed out there on the street. ''You?''

''As long as the adrenaline stays in my system, I should be good. After that...'' She paused to think about how bad she would feel after all this. How all the exhaustion and pain finally caught up with her. ''Yeah I don't want to think about that.'' Katya shook her head. 

The fight between Rogers and the Winter Soldier continued while they were talking. The sound of Steve's shield hitting metal, low grunts and blows was background music to their conversation. As long as it continued, they were good. When it stopped, that's when they would be screwed. 

Both women listened to it for a while, neither one of them really knowing what to say. Katya could feel Natasha's pain radiating off her, even if she said it didn't hurt so bad. And Natasha could feel Katya balancing on the edge of collapsing. 

''It's really him, isn't it?'' Natasha's weak voice pulled Katya's attention away from their surroundings and back to her. Her green eyes tried to focus on Katya's blue ones, but they had trouble holding them. 

Katya sighed and nodded. ''It's him.'' She brushed some hair out of Natasha's face that had fallen in her eyes before returning her hand to her shoulder. ''The metal arm is kind of a giveaway.''

''Do you think Steve can take him?'' Natasha asked with difficulty while her skin kept getting paler.

Katya hesitated on what to say. She didn't know the answer to her question. Steve was strong and a good fighter, but they had no idea what HYDRA put in the other guy. ''If anyone can beat his ass, it's Rogers,'' she half-dodged the question.

Normally, Natasha would notice and ask again until she got a straight answer out of Katya, but this time she either didn't notice or she didn't care enough to ask again. 

''I'm fine, Katya. You should help him.'' Natasha could sense Katya's restlessness, her eyes darting to the direction of the fight every time there was a loud blow or a gunshot. Sitting there and doing nothing felt like she had to do more. More to help Steve beat the soldier. 

Seeing that Katya didn't exactly want to leave Natasha on her own either, the redhead picked up Katya's rifle and pushed it in her direction. It didn't just have a system for firing bullets, it also had a grenade launcher on top of it. It may be exactly what they needed to take him out. 

''Take it,'' she said as she pushed the gun in Katya's hands. ''And don't miss this time.''

Katya narrowed her eyes at the joke which she didn't even find remotely funny at the moment and hesitantly accepted the gun. To do that, she had to take her hands away from Natasha's gunshot wound, which resulted in a small hiss from her. ''Stay here,'' Katya ordered Natasha strictly. Even in her condition, it wouldn't surprise Katya if Natasha tried something anyway.

After ensuring that Natasha would stay put, Katya checked the grenade launcher and found it loaded, but only with one shot. The adrenaline had started wearing off a little, so her body protested heavily as she stood up. She made her way to the back of the van and peeked around the corner. 

Sam flew in right at that moment and kicked the soldier down and away from Steve. Something had happened in their fight. A strange vibe between the two men hang in the air and Steve looked frozen in place. Even the Winter Soldier seemed to hesitate a second when he stood up and stared at his opponent. 

It didn't last long though. Suddenly he raised a gun and pointed it straight at Steve. Katya aimed her own gun and seeing as she stood right behind Steve, launched the grenade over his shoulder, and in the direction of the man in black. The car next to him exploded in a cloud of smoke and it was impossible for Katya to see if she actually got him. But her gut feeling was that she missed him again. 

All of her energy was drained from her body at once as she collapsed against the back of the van and stared at the spot where the Winter Soldier stood just a moment ago. The smoke cleared, but there was no body and no soldier either. 

Over the crackling of fire, the sound of sirens coming closer made her heart sink in her chest. SHIELD (or HYDRA really) had found them. How could they not? If you take out a couple of their guys, almost beat their asset, and create a warzone on a random street in a busy city, how could they not find you?

Katya was unsure of what to do when big, black cars came closer and closer, surrounding them and closing off their flight routes. She looked at Steve, who didn't make any moves to run away. Sam was frozen in his spot too, so she saw no other option than to drop her own gun and wait for them to get to her. 

Dozens of SHIELD/HYDRA soldiers stepped out of the vehicles, armed to the teeth and all aiming their guns on the four fugitives. And leading the pack was no other than Rumlow. Katya wished she could say she was surprised to see him as a HYDRA snake, but she really wasn't. 

''Drop the shield, Cap! Get on your knees!'' He yelled at Steve, who still seemed a little disoriented from whatever happened with the Winter Soldier earlier. 

''Get on your knees! Now! Get down! Get down!'' They swarmed him as he dropped his precious shield and kicked the back of his knees when he was too slow to get down. 

Katya was being surrounded by her own crew of soldiers and every cell in her body told her to fight, to run. But these people around her were not only HYDRA. Some of them were SHIELD. People who had no idea what was going on and were lied to, completely trusting Pierce and the lies he told. Besides, there was no way she could win.

''Don't touch her. She got shot,'' she hissed at the guys moving for Natasha, who had managed to stand up on her own. They didn't listen to her, of course, and forced Natasha's hands behind her back, cuffing them tightly. Now, the wound was completely exposed and the blood loss would only get worse.

They pushed both women towards the nearest car and opened the back. It was a standard SHIELD prison transport van where Steve was already pushed into. Rumlow proudly stood next to the doors. Katya guessed this was the happiest day of his life. The day he finally got to lock her up. 

She threw him the dirtiest look ever as he stopped her right before she stepped in after Natasha. ''Petrova. Not so funny now, are we?''

''Rumlow,'' she spat. ''Why am I not surprised you're a HYDRA snake. Turns out you're even more of a coward than I thought you were.''

He bawled his fists and if it wasn't for the TV-helicopter hovering above the scene, he would have punched her in her face. Now, she gave him a sarcastic, triumphant smile and stepped into the van. 

Katya was forced into the seat next to Steve, who had the strongest handcuffs on she had ever seen, and was chained to the floor herself. Sam sat opposite her, with Natasha next to him. The condition of her girlfriend worried Katya more than whatever situation they had found themselves in now. 

They would figure something out to get out of this whole mess, but if she lost Natasha to something as stupid as a gunshot wound, HYDRA wasn’t rid of her yet.


	42. Hope

The rhythmic, soothing shaking of the van was not helping Katya's tiredness. She had trouble keeping her eyes open and wanted nothing more than to lean her head back and fall asleep. But that couldn't happen, not now, not when she suspected their fight wasn't over yet. 

It was stupid to hope for some miracle that would get them out of there, she knew that. Hope was dangerous, especially now when they were practically lead to their deaths, but Katya needed it to stay alive. 

A little bit of hope is effective, effective in wanting to stay alive and see what comes next. Katya had a weird relationship with hope. When she was first taken from her home and forced into the lifestyle of killing, hope had flared in her chest like a big flame. Someday, she would get out of there and be done with the horror. Live a simple life. 

But the more time passed, the more she saw that flame of hope go out. See, when you keep hoping and nothing happens for days, weeks, years, the more you believe it will never happen. It was also painful to hope, she was just torturing herself by not accepting her reality. 

Katya knew she had to let go of it, and she did for a while, when she got really low and saw no way out. But that little flame was always smoldering and she named that fire as the reason she was still alive today.

Also in this moment, it wasn't letting her down. These few days had come with all kinds of surprises and weird turns and Katya suspected it wasn't going to stop now.

She hoped help would come soon though, because Natasha was turning paler by the second and had trouble staying conscious. Katya was worried that if her wound wasn't patched up soon, she would bleed out in the van. 

Sam shared worried glances with her and Katya could sense that he desperately wanted to help Natasha, but there was nothing he could do than sit and watch. He was the least banged up and confused of them all. Katya thought he didn't fully realize what was happening and the danger he was in. She betted he regretted getting mixed up with them. 

Steve, who sat next to Katya, hadn't moved in a long time and his confusion and worry was radiating off him. He stared at the cuffs around his wrists with an empty look in his eye and the gears running in his head. 

From what Katya had pieced together herself, the Winter Soldier apparently was Steve's old buddy Bucky who had reportedly fallen to his death back in '45. She understood nothing of how he was here today, but she could understand why he turned into the killing machine he is. HYDRA has a way of taking out your soul and replacing it with an animal, completely erasing everything a person once was. 

From what she had seen and heard from the Winter Soldier, was that he was nothing more than the monster they made him. But she suspected Steve wasn't going to give up on his friend so easily. 

Steve was the first to break the tense silence. ''It was him.'' He didn't look up when he spoke and Katya thought this was more him thinking out loud than talking to the others. ''He looked right at me and he didn't even know me.''

Sam, who was the only one with the energy to answer, looked away from Natasha to Steve. ''How's that even possible? It was like seventy years ago.''

''Zola,'' Steve said immediately, like he had already figured it all out. ''Bucky's whole unit was captured in '43, Zola experimented on him. Whatever he did helped Bucky survive the fall. They must have found him and-''

''None of that's your fault, Steve.'' Natasha interrupted him weakly, her voice barely audible. It clearly cost a lot of energy to talk. She could sense Steve's guilt, even if he didn't say it out loud. 

He ignored her words. Clearly, stubbornness was also a big word in his dictionary. ''Even when I had nothing, I had Bucky.''

Katya had heard the conversation, but it was all very vague and distant, like nothing really registered in her head. She wished they would be at HQ already so she could sleep in her cell. If they weren't going to execute her immediately that was. They must have some big plan to do it, make a spectacle out of it. 

After all, they were too dangerous to keep alive. They knew everything about the snakes within SHIELD, where the rest of the world still didn't suspect a thing. If they didn't expose HYDRA, they could continue on this path of destruction under SHIELD's name and that was the last thing the world needed.

Sam's loud voice pulled her back to reality. His tone was different, filled with anxiety and anger, so Katya knew he must be talking to one of the guards who also sat in the back with them. There were two of them to be exact. Both clad in all black, head to toe, with protective helmets and weapons around their waist. 

She hadn't really paid attention to them, because there was no way to take them out anyway. Natasha and she were too weak to fight and Steve and Sam were bound too tightly to the van they couldn't even reach them if they tried. 

''We need to get a doctor here. We don't put pressure on that wound she's gonna bleed out here in the truck,'' Sam tried to reason with the stone cold guards. It was of no use. They couldn't care less if Natasha bled out or not.

She was about to tell him that, when suddenly the guard closest to Sam pulled out his electric rod and pointed it towards him in a threatening way. Everyone was immediately on high alert and Katya sat up straight in her seat, shaking the exhaustion and pain out of her head.

There was a tense moment where everything froze and everyone waited to see what would happen next. But that annoying little flame inside Katya flared up when the guard turned the stick around and pressed it into the other guard's chest. To say everyone was surprised was an understatement. It got even better when he knocked him out cold with a swift kick to the head. 

The surviving guard reached up to his helmet and pulled it off his head. Only it wasn't a him, it was a her. Katya had never been so happy to see Agent Hill's long, brown hair as in that moment. 

She liked Fury's right hand. Hill was smart, straight to the point, tough and all business. Actually, she reminded Katya a lot of Natasha so it wasn't a surprise they all got along so well. 

''Ah. That thing was squeezing my brain.'' Right and sometimes, Hill had great humor and sarcasm. Another plus.

She gave Katya a smug smile when she caught her eye, before taking a further look at the others, stopping at Sam. Hill looked him up and down in confusion, before turning back to the others. ''Who's this guy?''

Katya managed a chuckle and a smile. Hill would have a plan to get them out of there and suddenly, there was some energy back in her body that was fueled by that flame. 

''Please tell me you have a plan to get us out of here,'' Katya said to Maria, who looked a little offended. 

She reached for her belt and held up a black stick Katya recognized all too well. It was a laser torch, one that could cut through almost everything. So something as thin as the steel floor of this van, shouldn't be a problem. 

''I'm offended you doubt me, Petrova,'' Maria said with a smirk before she put all the fun away and turned back to the situation. She grabbed the keys from the other guard and threw them at Sam, who understood what he was supposed to do, while she herself started with burning the hole in the floor. 

Sam freed himself first, before throwing Katya the keys to unlock the others. Sam himself immediately went for Natasha's shoulder and pressed his hands to it the same way Katya had done before.   
Natasha winced but made no sound as Katya freed herself and then Steve before finally unlocking Natasha's cuffs. 

Katya crouched down in front of her, brushing some hair out of Natasha's face, who didn't even register it. She and Sam shared a concerned look in which Sam could read how helpless Katya felt. There was nothing she could do while she was so weak herself. 

''Don't worry, I got her,'' Sam reassured her with a kind smile, which calmed Katya down slightly. She gave him a thankful nod before turning to Hill and Rogers, who were busy with the laser cutter. Right before Maria completed the circle, she stopped to give them more information.

''We're in the last car, so no one will see us come out. Drop down, stay low and roll away, you know the drill. I'll go first, find a car and get it running.'' She looked at all of them to confirm they understood her. When she was satisfied, she turned the laser back on and finished the circle. 

The heavy piece of steel fell on the floor with a loud noise and Katya prayed that the cars in front didn't hear it. Maria wasted no time in jumping through the hole, clearly in a rush to get out of there. They had to jump quickly after each other, or they would end up scattered too far apart. 

It was clear that Steve would be the last to jump. He wanted to make sure everyone else got out safe. Sam was still helping Natasha stand up from the bench so it was clear to Katya that she was second.   
With one last nod towards Sam, who she trusted to take care of Natasha, she dropped down on the floor and slid out the van. 

She knew it would hurt, but that didn't lessen the pain as her body collided with the hard street. The rear wheels came dangerously close to her body so she pulled her arms and legs in best she could.   
They sped by her head and suddenly she was clear from the vehicle. She rolled along the asphalt until her body came to a still and pushed herself off the ground. 

Katya had spent enough time in the city to know that this wasn't a route to the Triskelion. This was a dark part of D.C. with lots of empty warehouses and shady people. She hadn't been wrong with her suspicions about HYDRA wanting to kill them. But that they would do it here and without making a big show out of it, surprised her.

The dark buildings and narrow roads made it easy to find cover, so that's exactly where she disappeared. Hill knew the route the van would make, so she knew exactly where to pick up her colleagues. All there was left to do is wait and stay alert. 

It wasn't long before the sound of an engine came closer and Katya looked around the corner of a wall, seeing an old, dirty van coming her way, Maria sitting behind the wheel. Katya emerged from her hiding spot, Hill spotting her right away and stopping the van right in front of her. 

It was one of those vans with a sliding door in the side and no windows in the back. Ideal to transport four fugitives in secret. 

Katya slid the door open and jumped in, quickly taking a seat on the floor (it wasn't a van made for transporting people in the back) because Maria stepped on the gas immediately. After all, there was no time to waste in case HYDRA had already noticed their prisoners were missing. 

''Where are we going?'' Katya asked Maria, who swept the streets for any sign of the others. 

''To see an old acquaintance,'' the brunette answered vaguely. 

Katya trusted the woman with her life, one of the few, so didn't ask further what she meant. When Maria stopped again, Katya opened the door and in stepped Natasha and Sam. The last stop was Steve, who collapsed on the ground too. 

''We're fifteen minutes out,'' Hill announced to the people in the back.

''Fifteen minutes out from what?'' Steve asked confused.

''You'll see,'' she answered him just as vague as she did Katya.

In the meantime, Katya had slid over to Natasha and looked to Sam with questioning eyes. Sam shook his head, indicating that she wasn't doing too well and was losing too much blood. His hands squeezed Natasha's shoulder as hard as they could, but Katya could see the blood dripping down his arms. 

Katya could see the distant look in Natasha's eyes and knew she was close to losing consciousness. But she couldn't have that yet. She had to hold on for another fifteen minutes and then some more to get it all stitched closed. Preferably, she would also need a blood transfusion, but since Katya had no idea where they were going and what would be available there, that might not be an option. 

It also wasn't an option to go to the hospital. At least not as long as the rest of the world thought they were criminals.

The only thing Katya could do to keep her awake, was hold Natasha's hand and talk to her. Talk to her about random things and tap her cheek when she threatened to pass out. 

Her own body wasn't doing so well either, but she blocked all of it out. She blocked Sam, who was listening to everything she was saying, even though he didn't want to. She blocked Steve, who's thoughts about Bucky she could practically hear. And she blocked her worries about where they were going, what was going to happen next and who they were going to see.

Nothing else mattered in this moment than keeping Natasha alive. The rest, they could figure that out later.


	43. Death Is Apparently Not The End

Every second felt longer than the last one as the van kept making left and right turns on an unpaved road. Katya could feel Maria was driving as fast as she could without throwing around the people in the back. But still, it felt like forever until the van finally came to a stop. 

Katya had no idea where they were, but it couldn't be far from the city. 

Hill jumped out the driver's seat and opened the back door for the others, who had trouble standing from their crouched positions on the floor. Sam helped Katya up, while Steve tended to Natasha, supporting her weight as she stepped out of the back. 

They were at a dam just outside the city. It was completely isolated and surrounded by forest as far as you could see. The perfect place to hide four fugitives. Well, five if you count Hill, who was never going to work for HYDRA either. 

She walked in front, leading the others to the door at the bottom of the huge stone wall. Katya was leaning on Sam heavily, but he didn't protest. She kept a close eye on Natasha, who walked in front of her, her feet almost dragging over the uneven ground. 

The door, which was more of a gate, creaked as Hill pushed at it. A long hallway was waiting for them behind it, which frustrated Katya. How much longer did they have to walk until she could sit down.   
Maria sensed what everyone was thinking, or maybe it was the looks on their faces.

''It's just up ahead.'' Her voice echoed between the walls, which gave the place an even eerier feeling. Although it did fit their current situation perfectly.

Katya just kept her eyes on the ground, focusing all her energy on placing one foot in front of the other. That's all she could think about at the moment. Left foot, right foot, repeat. 

The sound of much faster footsteps approaching them quickly, is what snapped her out of her trance. First, she tensed up, but relaxed when Maria breathed out in relief as the man came closer. ''GSW. She's lost at least a pint,'' the brunette yelled at him, not wasting any time. 

''Maybe two,'' Sam added from Katya's side. She almost cried from happiness when she finally realized he was a doctor and was there to take care of Natasha. 

Maria pointed to Katya next. Natasha wasn't the only one who needed professional help. ''Probably a torn shoulder muscle, dehydration and over exhaustion, although those last two count for all of them.''

The doctor nodded, the frown on his forehead deepening at their condition. ''Let me take them.''

Hill shook her head. ''They'll want to see him first.''

Katya was still completely clueless as to who this mysterious person could be, and the others looked just as confused as they followed her to a room a couple doors down. There was a makeshift setup, with big lights and in the middle a bed behind some clear plastic. It was impossible to see who was behind the curtains, until Maria finally pulled them to the side.

Everyone froze in place. Katya didn't think she had ever been so surprised and caught off guard than right in that moment. She didn't know what to do. Cry, laugh or get angry. She did nothing instead. Just stared at the fragile looking man in the sterile white bed. 

Nick Fury. Son of a bitch was still alive. 

He's like a cockroach, impossible to kill. Great for him, sucks for HYDRA. Because in that moment, Katya felt that fire of hope flair up again. With Fury still alive and HYDRA having no idea of that, they had a fighting chance again. Surely, he would have a plan to take back SHIELD. 

Nobody said anything. Four pairs of eyes just stared at him like they saw an alien from Mars and not the director of SHIELD, declared dead.

''About damn time.''

''Who's this guy?'' Sam mumbled under his breath to Katya, who was still staring at the man. They had told Sam that Fury had been killed, but the general public didn't know what he looked like or that he was the director. So Sam probably had a guess who the guy in the bed was from the stories they had told him, but had never put a face to the name. 

''That's Fury,'' Katya breathed. 

Sam furrowed his eyebrows as he looked down at her. ''I thought you guys said he was dead?''

''He was.''

While they had been standing there like idiots, the doctor had wasted no time in grabbing some chairs and whatever equipment he needed to fix the two women up. Sam and Steve got the hint and guided Katya and Natasha to the chairs on the left side of Fury's bed. They kept their eyes on him like he would disappear again if they looked away.

''It's good to see you, sir.'' Steve was the first one to finally speak to Fury, although there was an undertone of bitterness to his voice. He didn't like being kept in the dark. 

Sam gently guided Katya down in the chair and she could finally relax. They were finally, for the first time in days, safe. At least for a moment. 

Steve lowered Natasha in the chair on Katya's left and the doctor wasted no time in putting pressure on her gunshot wound. 

The others gathered around the bed as they waited for an explanation from Fury as to why he was still alive. Neither Natasha or Katya had said anything to him yet, although both of them had enough questions to ask.

''Lacerated spinal column, cracked sternum, shattered collarbone, perforated liver and one hell of a headache.'' Fury listed his injuries without anyone having to ask. They all hang onto his words, not wanting to miss anything. 

The doctor looked up from Natasha's shoulder for a second. ''Don't forget your collapsed lung,'' he reminded Fury.

''Oh, let's not forget that,'' Fury sarcastically answered. ''Otherwise, I'm good.''

''They cut you open, your heart stopped.'' There was a vulnerability in Natasha's voice that Katya didn't hear often. Fury's death had hurt her more than she had led on. After all, he was like a father figure for her. He had given her a second chance when she felt she didn't deserve one. 

''Tetrodotoxin B. Slows the pulse to one beat a minute,'' Fury explained how he made it look like he was dead, fooling not only the spies in front of him, but also the doctors at the hospital. ''Banner developed it for stress. Didn't work so great for him, but we found a use for it.''

''Why all the secrecy? Why not just tell us?'' That was Steve, finally getting the frustration Katya had sensed earlier, out of his system.

Maria answered for her boss. ''Any attempt on the director's life had to look successful.''

Katya nodded in understanding, although it still sucked they were kept in the dark. ''Can't kill you if you're already dead.'' It was the first thing she said to him since she had walked in here. And it was the first time he really looked her in the eyes.

''Precisely.'' Fury nodded at her. ''Besides, I wasn't sure who to trust.''

That line was a punch in the gut for Katya, and she could see it affected Natasha too. Although at the same time, she couldn't really blame Fury that he doubted her loyalty to SHIELD. After all, Katya was HYDRA in another life and even though she thought Fury trusted her, apparently there had always been that tiny voice in his head that didn't. 

''You have a plan, sir?'' Steve asked after a short silence, where everyone was trying to process the fact that Fury was still alive and the how.

Katya was someone who was very flexible in situations. If a new element or threat was unexpectedly added to her mission, she could deal with it quickly: adapt to the new circumstances. Somehow, her brain could process these things fast and come up with a new plan. Today wasn't any different, it was just that the shock of seeing Fury alive was unlike any surprise she's ever had. 

But Katya shook it all off and focused on the task at hand. There was still an organization to safe, after all.

Fury nodded as an answer to Steve's question before calling Maria over. ''Hill, help me up.''

The doctor was not happy with Fury's decision to get out of bed, but he also knew not to protest. Everyone watched helplessly as Fury's broken body made it out of the bed and stumbled to a table in the corner of the room, supported by Maria. Katya had spotted the table on her way in, because there were some boxes and files laying on top of it. 

Without having to say a word, it was obvious that Fury wanted them to follow him. The doctor, in the meantime, had quickly stitched Natasha's wound shut and bandaged it nicely. So she waved Steve away when he wanted to help her stand. That was more like the Natasha Katya knew. Never show weakness, even if you're in pain. 

Now that Natasha was all good and there was nothing more the doctor could do for her, he moved to Katya in the other chair. She hated that other people had to help her, but for now, she accepted his help, knowing she needed it badly. 

He let her lean on him as they walked over to the others and he pulled out a chair for her to sit on. He helped her pull off her hoodie, leaving her in just a tank top to expose her shoulder. Katya could hear a sharp intake of breath next to her and as she looked down to her shoulder herself, she understood why Natasha was not happy with what she saw. 

Her whole shoulder was bruised. And not just some light bruising, no, it was black and purple and covered a lot of skin. The temptation to poke it was big, but Katya knew it would hurt so she left it alone. The doctor would have to judge how bad it was. 

Speaking of the doctor, as soon as Katya sat down, he ran off to get his equipment and was back in no-time with everything he needed to help her. And that included an IV-drip. 

Katya wanted to groan at the sight of the stand on wheels he was rolling over towards her. It made her feel weak, but she also knew she would feel a lot better after whatever he was going to give her.   
While the doctor pushed the needle in a vain in her right arm and began to set everything up for the drip, Katya just tried to focus on the things happening in front of her. Maria had opened one of the black boxes and taken out a laptop. Fury was shuffling through some files with his hand that wasn't in a sling, looking for something. 

The doctor moved to Katya's shoulder after he was satisfied that the drip worked as it should and she prepared for the pain that was undoubtedly coming next. When it did come, she squeezed the armrest to stop herself from screaming or saying something unintelligent. Her jaw clenched as she tried to push the pain away while the man kept feeling her skin and muscles and twisting her arm around. 

He did it gently, but it still hurt like a bitch. Everything in her left arm hurt and it radiated through her body. When he finally let go of her and stood up with a worried expression on his face, Katya knew it was bad. Probably even worse than she had thought.

''Your shoulder muscle is almost completely torn. You probably have multiple fractures in your collarbone and upper arm, but that's impossible to say for sure without an X-ray. Your ribs are bruised on the left side, but not too severely.'' He summed up her injuries carefully and saw her face fall. She would be out of the running for months and was definitely benched for whatever Fury was planning. 

''I can bandage it up for now, but you will need surgery to repair your muscle. After that, weeks of rest and rehabilitation.'' He walked over to his bag without waiting for an answer, and came back with another needle, this one filled with fluids. ''This is a strong painkiller that will help with the pain for now.''

Katya couldn't do anything but nod. This was a blow in her face. With everything combined, she wouldn't be able to do real work for months at a time where she needed to be on her best.   
She could feel Natasha's worried eyes on her, but didn't look her way. Katya didn't want pity, especially not now, when they had bigger problems than her health.

''This man declined the Nobel Peace Prize,'' Fury broke the tense silence that arose after the doctor's opinion. ''He said, "Peace wasn't an achievement, it was a responsibility." See, it's stuff like this that gives me trust issues.'' He had a picture of Pierce in his hand that he threw on the table in frustration. 

''We have to stop the launch.'' Natasha had averted her eyes from the woman next to her and focused on the conversation.

Fury moved for the black box next to him on the table and opened it, turning it around so the content was visible for everyone. ''I don't think the Council's accepting my calls anymore.''

There were three chips inside that didn't remind Katya of anything. Technology wasn't her thing and whatever these were, she had never seen them before. Couldn't even think of a place they belonged in.   
Sam was just as clueless as her. ''What's that?''

That was when Maria started explaining the plan, showing a video on her laptop about the schematics of the carriers and the placement of the chips. 

She was still Fury's right hand after everything that had happened. They understood each other without words and had come up with a plan before the others had even arrived on base. ''Once the Helicarriers reach three thousand feet, they'll triangulate with Insight satellites becoming fully weaponized.''

Ah, so the chips had something to do with the Helicarriers from Project Insight. 

''We need to breach those carriers and replace their targeting blades with our own,'' Fury explained the mission.

So they needed to get onto the carriers. An easy task during any normal day, but not anymore. Now, SHIELD was overrun by HYDRA. So between them and the Helicarriers stood hundreds of HYDRA soldiers, ordered to kill them. This could possibly be a suicide mission.

And to make it even worse, Maria added another factor to keep in mind. ''One or two won't cut it. We need to link all three carriers for this to work, because if even one of those ships remains operational a whole lot of people are gonna die.''

Of course there would be a failsafe that said all three would have to be replaced. This was typical SHIELD safety regulations working against them right now. 

It will be an impossible task to stop those Helicarriers and get out alive. Even more so when you consider that Steve and Sam have to do it on their own. Natasha, Katya and Fury were in no shape to fight, and Maria needed to be in the control room. Two soldiers against a whole army of HYDRA, the odds weren't in their favor.

''We have to assume everyone aboard those carriers is HYDRA,'' Fury warned them. ''We need to get pass them, insert the server blades, and maybe, just maybe, we can salvage what's left...''

''We're not salvaging anything,'' Steve cut off Fury. ''We're not just taking down the carriers, Nick, we're taking down SHIELD.''

''Excuse me?'' Katya turned her head to Steve, who stood at the other end of the table, to her left. She was surprised by his words and also sad that it would be the end of the organization she had dedicated her life to. The organization that had given her a second chance. 

But deep down, she knew that SHIELD had to go. It was too infected by HYDRA. It just hurt to think about.

''SHIELD had nothing to do with it,'' Fury backed Katya with just as much anger and frustration in his voice.

But Steve wasn't backing down. ''You gave me this mission, this is how it ends. SHIELD's been compromised, you said so yourself. HYDRA grew right under your nose and nobody noticed.''

''Why do you think we're meeting in this cave? I noticed,'' Fury sarcastically answered.

Steve was getting angry now too. ''And how many paid the price before you did?''

Fury understood what Steve really meant with those words, who he was referring to. ''Look, I didn't know about Barnes...'' His voice softened to try and reason with the Captain, but he wouldn't hear any of it.

''Even if you have, would you have told me? Or would you have compartmentalized that too?'' When he got no answer, it confirmed his suspicions. ''SHIELD, HYDRA, it all goes.''

''He's right.'' Maria voiced her opinion too. This time, she wasn't with Fury, but against him. And if there is someone who could change the Director's mind, it was her.

Fury looked at Natasha with a hopeful look in his eyes that she would support him, but she just stared at him and leaned back in her chair, a sign that she didn't have anything to say. Then he looked to Sam behind her, who wasn't planning on agreeing with him either. ''Don't look at me. I do what he does, just slower.''

Katya barely registered what he was saying. There was too much going on in her head. Of course she understood what Steve was saying and she agreed that the HYDRA problem had grown out of hand. There was no way to take down HYDRA without taking down SHIELD. But part of her felt they were giving up too quickly. 

Without SHIELD, who was she? SHIELD was her life, her home. It was so much more than just a job. If they took it down, it would be the end of an era. The security in her life would be gone. And even though she wouldn't be on her own, it was enough to scare the hell out of her. 

Espionage is all she's ever known. Without that, who is Katya Petrova?

She was so lost in her thoughts, eyes fixed on one point on the table, that she didn't notice all the eyes staring at her. Fury's voice eventually broke through her thoughts. ''Petrova?''

There were some tears in her eyes that she blamed on the physical pain she was feeling when she looked up and met the man's eyes. She had to let SHIELD go, however badly she wanted to hold on. 

''I agree sir, it has to go.'' Her voice was steady as she spoke, but it was far from how she was really feeling. She felt a hand on her thigh, squeezing it in comfort. Natasha let her know that she wasn't alone and they would get through this together. 

Katya looked at her and immediately felt better when her girlfriend smiled at her. Katya grabbed the hand on her leg and squeezed it back, a silent understanding between them.

''Well...'' Fury sighed, leaning back in defeat, pulling their attention back to the conversation. ''Looks like you're giving the orders now, Captain.''


	44. Surprise, Bitch

Steve was quick to come up with a plan to bring down HYDRA, and with it SHIELD. Fury had already thought through a big part of the plan, but since the endgame was now dismantling the entire organization, Steve added an extra something. And that something included dumping every secret SHIELD had, on the internet.

Katya had protested against that part, since her history wasn't something she liked the whole world to know, but had given in when she realized it was a necessary sacrifice. Besides, she wouldn't be alone in it. Natasha had a questionable past too that would be out in the open. 

They knew their whole lives would change after today, but there is a certain peace in giving up. Giving up on trying to hold together what will be lost and accepting fate. 

So in the end, she gave in to the plan and sat quietly while Steve went over it a couple times, giving everyone their orders before leaving to do his own part. Which for him, meant going to a museum to get his old Captain America suit, since his current one was at the Triskelion. 

Katya thought it was wasted time, but to quote the man himself: ''If you're gonna fight a war, you gotta wear a uniform.''

She didn't get a prominent role in the mission, which was no surprise but sucked anyway. Her body was finished and until she got proper surgery, would be unable to fight. So Katya was benched, but not entirely useless. 

With one good arm, she was still able to hold a gun. And since the plan involved Fury flying in on the council meeting in Pierce's office, Katya would go with him as backup, since the man himself could barely walk. 

Two invalids are better than one, right?

Natasha would go in disguised as councilwoman Hawley, with cutting-edge SHIELD technology making her look and talk just as the woman. To Katya, it was deeply disturbing to see her girlfriend with a different face and different voice, but she had to admit that it looked very realistic. Nobody would know it wasn't the councilwoman. 

It was a smart move from Rogers to place Natasha in such a key position, close to Pierce to keep an eye on him and use him to bypass the security scans. Of course, Pierce still thought Fury was dead, so him flying in in a helicopter will be a shock. And Pierce's face when he would see Fury wasn't something Katya wanted to miss.

It was tricky to grab Hawley on the way between the airport and HQ, but they managed to grab her and make sure she wouldn't ruin their operation. Which basically meant knocking her out and keeping her detained in the dam building. Which would be a mess to explain to her afterwards, but that was something for later. 

For now, Katya was alone with Fury in the dam, where they were waiting for Natasha's sign to fly in. Maria had flown there with a helicopter, so they already had the thing waiting for them, and Fury was stubborn enough to want to fly the thing himself with the one arm he could use. 

They were sitting around the table from before, with laptops in front of them to keep track of the operation and they had their earpieces in, which were connected to everyone in the field. 

Maria would be the center of operations and control everything from the control room at the top of HQ. Steve and Sam would place the chips in all three carriers and try not to get killed in the process and Natasha would take out Pierce and put all SHIELD's secrets on the internet. 

So all Katya could do was keep an eye on everything and help Maria from a distance. Not that the brunette needed it, but still, it gave her some sense of helpfulness. 

The screen in front of her showed a map with the location of the agents. Sam, Steve and Maria were about to breach the Triskelion from the top and Natasha was in the lobby with the other councilmembers, being greeted by Pierce. 

Katya would lie if she said that Natasha's red dot wasn't the one she kept the closest eye on. Of course she told her to be careful before she left, but this was by far one of the biggest missions they had ever gone on and she was all alone up there. 

Katya could hear everything that was said to Natasha and everything she said back, which gave her a good overview on the situation. Currently, Pierce was greeting them and giving them the pins every visitor needed to wear in HQ. Nobody seemed to suspect that Hawley wasn't really Hawley but in fact the Black Widow.

On the screen, she could see that the other three had breached the control room and suspected something from them soon. First it was the feed of security cameras from inside HQ, that Hill had sent to Katya's laptop. Now, Katya could actually see what was happening instead of just hearing it. 

The second thing she got was Steve's voice, which she could hear through Natasha's comms too. The council was hearing his speech up in their room, which also became clear by the way the councilmembers stared up at the ceiling.

''...SHIELD is not what we thought it was, it's been taken over by HYDRA. Alexander Pierce is their leader. The STRIKE and Insight crew are HYDRA as well.''

Everything was silent on comms except Steve's voice. It was one of those Captain America speeches he could just think up on the spot. It was one of his better qualities.

''...They almost have what they want: absolute control. They shot Nick Fury and it won't end there. If you launch those Helicarriers today, HYDRA will be able to kill anyone that stands in their way, unless we stop them...''

He was asking the agents in the launch control room to stop the launch, hoping it would buy him some time. But since nobody really knew how much of SHIELD was actually HYDRA, there was a big chance the room would be overrun by HYDRA soon and the people had no choice but to launch. 

''Did you write that down first, or was it off the top of your head?'' Sam's voice filled Katya's ears and she couldn't help but smile a little. She liked his humor.

Everything seemed to happen all at once, now that HYDRA was exposed. A couple HYDRA agents entered the council room and pointed guns at everyone. The same thing was happening in the launch control room, where Rumlow of all people demanded the launch be started now, which resulted in a firefight between loyal SHIELD agents and traitors. But with the loyal agents being the minority, the launch was started anyway.

The large hangar doors opened, opening up the lake around HQ, which Katya used to love so much. ''They're initiating launch,'' Hill said. 

The big, impressive Helicarriers rose up from the ground. The Stark-improved engines burning blue with energy. 

Sam and Steve's red dots started moving on screen, making a way for the Carriers. In that moment, Katya felt a little hopeless. Two men against all HYDRA agents on those boats. She didn't need to be a genius to know that their odds weren't good. However, she did believe in them, like any team member should. 

It wasn't long before gunshots and grunts were heard through Steve and Sam's comms and Katya could only hope that meant they were kicking ass and not getting their ass kicked. She didn't have access to the cameras on the Carriers, so she kept her eyes on Pierce and his entourage, waiting for Natasha to make a move. Knowing her, it wouldn't take long.

Pierce stood by the window, looking at the Helicarriers with a glass of champagne in his hand, completely confident he was winning. ''Let me ask you a question.'' He turned to councilman Singh, gloating. ''What if Pakistan marched into Mumbai tomorrow, and you knew that they were gonna drag your daughters into a soccer stadium for execution?'' 

Singh hesitantly took the glass of champagne Pierce was offering him. The man knew there was nothing he could do but cooperate. He was outnumbered up there. 

''And you could just stop it with a flick of the switch. Wouldn't you? Wouldn't you all?'' Pierce looked around the room, the other councilmembers just staring at Pierce, looking lost. Well, everyone but Natasha, if you looked at her too closely. She was standing a little too confident for the situation, but Pierce didn't notice it. He was too busy peacocking.

''Not if it was your switch,'' Singh answered rebellious, throwing his glass away. It fell apart on the stone floor with a loud clinking. A stupid move really. He was just asking for it now. 

Katya watched as what she feared came true. Pierce laughed at Singh and asked the guard next to him for his gun. Pierce raised his arm and aimed the weapon at the councilman's heart. But just before he pulled the trigger, Singh was shoved out of harm’s way with a swift kick to his side. 

Natasha.

For Katya, it was always fascinating to watch her fight. Although she meant more in the training room and not while she was fighting for her life. 

Natasha danced around the room. That's the best way Katya could describe it. It was clear that she had already assessed the situation as soon as she walked in the room and decided the best ways to take the hostiles out as quick as possible. 

She punched Pierce in the face, which was very satisfying to watch, before throwing one of her Widow Bites at a HYDRA guard, who went down spasming. Taking Pierce's gun, she threw it at another guard's throat and moved to fight another one, flooring him quickly. The fourth guard got his head smashed on the table and the last one got flipped over. 

Katya timed it. 10 seconds. 

10 seconds and everyone was down. Very impressive. Especially in that tight skirt.

Fury, who sat next to Katya and was also watching the same feed, raised an impressed eyebrow. ''That's just impressive.''

The corner of Katya's mouth turned up. ''I know, right.''

Natasha grabbed the gun off of the guard and pointed it at Pierce, who suddenly wasn't so confident anymore now that his protection was gone. 

Natasha touched her temple, deactivating the mask. ''I'm sorry,'' she said to Pierce, who was just watching in confusion at what was happening. ''Did I step on your moment?''

Pierce's eyes turned big and Katya could see his confidence shattering. He may be an ass, but he wasn't stupid. Even he knew that he was deeply screwed now.

Fury started to stand up as soon as he saw that Natasha had the situation under control. ''Let's move,'' he said to Katya, who nodded her head and closed her laptop. She trusted Maria to keep her updated and to keep an eye on everything. 

Katya grabbed the gun from the table and tucked it under her belt, keeping it close in case she would need it later. She had a feeling Pierce wasn't beaten so easily. 

''Eight minutes, Cap,'' Maria reminded Steve while Katya walked through the halls of the dam building, following Fury to the helicopter.

Steve and Sam didn't have much time left to place those three chips into the Helicarriers and so far, they had none done. They would need every last second they could get and with every second passing, the chance of them succeeding declined. 

''Working on it!'' Steve yelled back, sounding out of breath. 

Over the other line, Katya could hear the rhythmic tapping of Natasha's fingers on a keyboard. At least everything was going according to plan there. 

''Nat, Fury and I are on our way to you.'' There was no reply -Natasha didn't want to give away the fact that she was on comms with someone- but Katya knew she heard her.

''What are you doing?'' One of the councilmembers asked Natasha in confusion. They hadn't said anything until now, but they probably understood she was there to help. 

Surprisingly, Pierce was the one who answered him. ''She's disabling security protocols and dumping all the secrets onto the Internet.''

''Including HYDRA's.'' Natasha's voice was almost bored as she typed away on the keyboard. It was almost a soothing sound.

''And SHIELD's,'' Pierce reminded her. ''If you do this, none of your past is gonna remain hidden. Katya's too.'' Natasha stopped typing at the mention of Katya's name, almost as if Pierce was getting to her with his mind games. But Katya had assured Natasha before she left that she was okay with what she had to do. 

''Are you sure you're ready for the world to see you as you really are?'' Pierce tried again when the typing continued.

Natasha didn't let him get to her and answered with one, simple question. ''Are you?'' 

Katya almost didn't hear her answer because Fury had started the engine of the helicopter and had begun liftoff. 

The noise of the wind and the rotating of the blades above her head made it almost impossible to hear what was being said.

''Alpha locked!'' She took a deep breath at Steve's announcement. One Carrier down, two to go.

The helicopter flew over the city. First the outskirts of D.C. and slowly towards the center, where the Triskelion was located. Katya was almost never in the front seat of a Quinjet so she hadn't seen D.C. from above too often. It was a nice city, but it didn't make her top five favorite cities of all time. Although that wasn't really a surprise. She had seen a lot of cities in her lifetime already.

Not long after, Sam confirmed the second lock. ''Bravo locked!''

''Two down, one to go.'' Maria's voice was relieved and hopeful and Katya couldn't help but share that feeling. She looked at her watch, seven minutes to go. 

That's when the destruction came into view and her heart dropped in her chest. Three Helicarriers had emerged from the hanger below the lake and flew a little above ground now. There was smoke and explosions everywhere and she could count the bodies from in the air.

It was worse than she had hoped, but just like she had imagined. HYDRA didn't give too shits about human life and killed because it was easy. There was nothing she could do to help the loyal SHIELD agents. They had to fend for themselves for now.

''Nat, we're sixty seconds out,'' Katya informed Natasha, who was still typing away. Eventually, she would hit a wall. To disable the encryption, two Alpha Level members were needed. There was absolutely no way around it, even for Natasha. Pierce probably thought he had her there, because he didn't know Fury was still alive. However, once again, he underestimated her.

''Disabling the encryption is an executive order, it takes two Alpha Level members.'' He said smugly when Natasha seemed to have hit that wall.

''Don't worry,'' she answered in the same tone. ''Company's coming.''

Katya wasn't one for dramatic entrances, but in this case, her arrival couldn't have been timed more perfectly. Seems like Natasha did like a dramatic entrance.

Fury landed the helicopter on the platform just outside the room and kept it running, just in case they would need a quick get-away. He stepped out and Katya did the same, opening the door to the building for him so he could make his own dramatic entrance. And with his long coat flapping around his legs because of the strong wind, it was one to remember. Certainly for Pierce, whose jaw was almost on the ground. 

Fury slowly made his way into the room, his terrifying death stare aimed at Pierce. Katya followed him with a smug smile on her lips and her shoulders back. She winked at Natasha, who found her eyes immediately and gave her a smile of her own, before turning to Pierce herself. 

The man's eyes flickered to Katya for just a moment, but it was enough for her to read them. His confidence was broken, but there was something unsettling still shining in them. He had something up his sleeve which made her very uneasy. Unconsciously, she moved her hand closer to the gun under her shirt.

''Did you get my flowers?'' Pierce joked to hide the fact that he was uncomfortable. ''I'm glad you're here, Nick.''

''Really?'' He stepped closer to Pierce, who didn't back down. Whether that was because of his pride or because he really did have something to hide wasn't clear. ''Cause I thought you had me killed.''

Pierce shrugged casually, like it was no big deal. ''You know how the game works.''

''So why make me head of SHIELD?'' Katya's mind went back to the conversation she observed between Steve and Pierce, back in his office, before everything went to shit. 

He had told them about the hostage situation. Fury ignoring orders and saving his daughter. Him giving Fury a promotion because of it. Even back then, there must have been some ulterior motive behind that move. That's probably how long this has been planned. 

''Cause you were the best and the most ruthless person I ever met.''

''I did what I did to protect people.'' Fury didn't like that Pierce talked about him like a killer. 

''Our enemies are your enemies, Nick.'' Pierce dived into a speech, trying to convince Fury. However, if he really knew him. He knew there was no way he would work with him. 

''Disorder, war. It's just a matter of time before a dirty bomb goes off in Moscow, or an EMP fries Chicago. Diplomacy? Holding action, a band-aid. And you know where I learned that; Bogota.''

Yup, there it is. He tried to put the blame on Fury by saying that his actions are the reason he turned out like this. Let's just say that didn't lift Nick's spirits any further.

''You didn't ask, you just did what had to be done. I can bring order to the lives of seven billion people by sacrificing twenty million. It's the next step, Nick, if you have the courage to take it.''

''No, I have the courage not to.''


	45. Tick Tock

Fury wasted no time in grabbing Pierce and gently dragging him to the screen on the wall. 

The computer was asking for clearance to disable the security and let Natasha do what she wanted to. 

Pierce didn't resist as Fury placed him in front of the wall. He knew he was outnumbered and had no choice but to go along with everything. But as soon as Natasha activated the retinal scan on the computer, the man tried one last time to save his skin and turned away from the screen.

At this point, Katya was tired of his games and was still on edge. Even though he was outnumbered, Pierce would try everything to get out of this situation. So she took out her gun and stepped closer to the HYDRA traitor, aiming the gun at his head. 

Pierce eyed her, looking her up and down a little too long for Katya's liking. She still didn't like the look in his eyes, he was almost smiling.

''You don't you think we wiped your clearance from the system?'' He said to Fury, who was getting tired of his games too. 

''I know you erased my password, probably deleted my retinal scan, but if you want to stay ahead of me, Mr. Secretary...'' Fury removed his eye patch to reveal his scarred eye. He had never told anyone how he got it and there were a lot of stories going around. Some say he was scarred by an alien, but he wouldn't tell anyone what really happened. 

''You need to keep both eyes open.'' Pierce wasn't impressed, so he had either seen his eye before or didn't show that he was surprised. However, now that he knew he had lost, he turned to the screen at the same time as Fury.

The retinal scan started scanning their eyes and it wasn't long before the security was down. ''Alpha Level confirmed. Encryption code accepted. Safeguards removed,'' the computer confirmed.

That's when another voice, which had been silent for a minute, spoke up again. ''Charlie Carrier's forty-five degrees off the port bow.'' Katya wanted to look outside and see the situation there, but the threat in the room wasn't gone yet. 

''Six minutes.'' Six minutes until millions of people were going to die unless Steve and Sam did something about it. 

The guys' voices were constantly in Katya's ear, but she chose to ignore it. Maria clearly had them covered and Katya was too busy with her own situation. It didn't sit right with her that Pierce had given in quite easily and felt that whatever he was planning would be coming any time now.

It was silent in the room. The only sound audible was Natasha's nails hitting the keyboard. To say it was a tense silence would be an understatement. And while Katya had lowered the gun she had pointed at Pierce, it was still firmly in her hand, finger on the trigger. 

The helicopter flight and the long standing was starting to affect her body. The way her muscles were tense didn't help either and her arm was starting to ache from holding the gun so tightly. But she wouldn't show anything, and definitely not to Pierce, who was eyeing her from where he was standing. 

The HYDRA leader looked out the window, seeing the explosions on the Helicarriers and hearing the destruction. He didn't dare move from his position, knowing it would earn him a bullet, but he did shake his head. ''Rogers will never make it.'' His confidence was unshattered. 

''You underestimated him before,'' Fury replied smartly. He was referring to the way he escaped from the Triskelion, the bunker and the van. 

''That's true, although he is not the only one.'' Pierce turned to Katya, seeing the way she stood strongly and confident. The look in her eye was one of pure hatred and if it was just him and her in this room, no SHIELD, no Fury, no Natasha, she would have put a bullet between his eyebrows a long time ago. 

She hated the way he was looking at her. Like she was the prey, like he owned her. It made her uneasy and it wasn't hard to guess what came next.

''The ex-HYDRA spy, fighting her own. Fighting the people who raised her, who turned her into the perfect killer she is today.''

Katya clenched her teeth together, trying her very best not to give in to his mind games. Natasha eyed the situation warily, knowing how much Katya hated her past and how easily triggered she was by it. 

''You know, I wanted to have you killed the moment Barton and Romanoff brought you in here.'' He started laughing almost manically. ''I couldn't believe it when you gave in so easily and gave up everything we had taught you. That freedom is the problem, SHIELD is the enemy. You threw that all away for the same person we had torn away from you years before.''

Katya's eyes flickered to Natasha's unconsciously and Pierce nodded to himself, confirming the point he was making. ''Shut. Up.'' She raised her gun again, but didn't take one step closer to him. 

''I was disappointed. You were one of the best we ever made. But it wasn't a surprise. There was always a weakness in you, the need to feel love.'' He spat out the last word like it was the filthiest thing he had ever tasted. 

''I hoped it would go away after we took Natalia away from you and threw her in another program, and it did for a while. You were following orders, taking your pain out on your targets, until you started taking it out on yourself. That's when we knew we had failed again. Would have saved us a lot of trouble if we just put a bullet in both your heads that day.''

Katya had trouble keeping her hands from shaking in anger but she was determined not to give him the satisfaction to see her break. Luckily, he didn't, because Fury finally had enough.

He turned his one angry eye on Pierce and gave him such a stern look that any other person would have shit their pants. ''Shut your mouth before I throw your HYDRA ass out that window myself, collapsed lung or not.''

Pierce stopped his rambling and held up his hands in surrender, but not before saying a final sentence. ''Katariina, it is not too late. You can still join the right side.''

Katya took a deep breath, lowering her weapon and raising her chin. She looked him dead in the eye as she spoke. ''My name is Katya, and I am right where I am supposed to be.''

Something flashed behind the man's eyes, defeat maybe? Or disappointment? But it was gone before she could really put a label on it and to be honest, she really didn't care. He stopped talking, which was the point.

Right at that moment, all sorts of loading and processing bars started running on the big screen in front of her, decrypting all the files and removing all security from them. It was working fast, a lot faster than Katya thought it would go, especially considering how much secrets SHIELD had. 

Natasha moved away from the computer, knowing that the only thing left to do was wait, taking her gun and phone with her and joined Katya's side. She gave her an encouraging smile, knowing how much Pierce's words unknowingly hit her and then stared at the progress on screen like everyone else in the room. 

The closer it came to being done, the more the tension in the room grew. This wasn't just uploading some information somewhere. This meant exposing SHIELD completely and leaving everything vulnerable. Every cover every Agent has ever had will be blown, putting lots of people in danger. Every safehouse, every secret facility will be known to the public. And with that, lots of people with bad intentions. 

It will be the end of an era. Hopefully for the best.

The computer chimed. ''Transfer complete,'' it said on screen.

Katya expected to be relieved that the mission had succeeded. That they had exposed HYDRA. But all she felt was sadness and anger. It shouldn't have gone down like this. The public will see SHIELD and HYDRA as one and the same and will never see SHIELD the same again. She hated that an unjust picture of the organization she loved so much would now be how everyone remembered it. 

Not all the good they had gone, not the alien invasion they had prevented in New York and not the millions of lives they were about to save if Steve did his job today. 

''Done,'' Natasha confirmed. ''And it's trending.'' She had her phone in one hand and a gun in the other, which was both very disturbing and funny. 

They had slipped up, both of them. Katya knew that the second she heard a sizzling sound followed by groaning and screaming. The councilmembers around them started dropping to the ground and it wasn't hard to figure out who was responsible for that. 

Katya and Natasha had the same instinct at the same time, spinning around towards Pierce, cocking their guns and aiming it right at his forehead. Fury had the same idea, but it didn't matter anymore. They had let their guard down for one second with a couple dead councilmembers in consequence.

Pierce had a very smug look on his face, which Katya yearned to knock off. ''Unless you want two inch hole in your sternum, I'd put that gun down.'' He looked straight at Natasha, who would be dead with one push on the button. 

This was an impossible situation. Pierce would press the button before either of them could put a bullet in his head, which left them with the only option: to do what he said. Which is what no one wanted. 

Even though Katya didn't dare move her eyes away from the man, she could feel the gears in Natasha's head running next to her, trying to find a way out of this without her dying. She was contemplating on whether to put her gun down or risk the chance that she could kill him before he killed her. Katya didn't want to risk Pierce pushing the button if it took them too long to comply, so she reluctantly dropped her arm but kept her murderous stare on him.

Pierce's thumb hovered over the kill button on his phone, waiting for Natasha and Fury to put their guns down as well. ''That was armed the moment you pinned it on.''

''Nat,'' Katya warned her under her breath, wishing she did what he said already. Maybe she was willing to risk her life, but Katya would die before she would ever let that happen.

Fury looked at the two women uncertainly, but eventually followed Katya's idea. Natasha finally did too, to Katya's relief. However, Pierce could force her to do whatever he wanted to. Which could be anything until it crossed the line of things Natasha was willing to do and she refused. Which would end up with her dying. 

''Very good. Now you are going to put the Project Insight mission on screen.'' He grabbed Natasha's upper arm and pushed her towards the computer. ''So you can all see that your failure will mean death to millions of people.''

Katya watched with clenched teeth and fists at how much power Pierce had over Natasha and she did what he said. Helplessness filled her chest. The feeling she trained so many years for to never feel. If you always have a solution or a way out of every fight and situation, you never have to feel helpless. 

Feeling it meant you failed in your job and when it came to protecting Natasha, even though she didn't need it, failing was not an option.

But Katya was not the only concerned one in the room. To Fury, Natasha was almost like a daughter. He was anxious too, but in a different way. He loved her in a different way. Not less, just different. 

On the screen, Natasha pulled up the map of the East coast with red dots spread throughout that part of the country. Those were without a doubt the Insight targets and Katya dared to bet that if you zoomed in on the room they were in right now, three red dots would fill it, one belonging to her.

As soon as the voice of a man at mission control filled the room, Pierce ordered Natasha away from the computer and took her place himself. The two women shared a worried look when Natasha joined Katya again, but said nothing. No words needed to be said.

''Lieutenant, how much longer?'' Pierce asked.

''Sixty-five seconds to satellite link. Targeting grid engaged. Lowering weapons array now.''

''One minute,'' Maria confirmed in Katya's ear too. 

Her heart was drumming in her chest as the seconds passed and more and more people were locked on to. She prayed that Steve would finish his mission and this hadn't all been for nothing. If it failed, they would be dead today.

Not how she wanted to go.

''Thirty seconds, Cap!'' 

Katya couldn't hear Steve anymore, maybe he switched to a different channel or his signal was blocked, so the only way to know if he succeeded was if the targets disappeared from the screen.

''We've reached three thousand feet. Satellite link coming online now. Deploy algorithm.''

''Algorithm deployed.''

Pierce smiled satisfactory. ''We are go to targets,'' he confirmed. He just smiled at the hateful stares he got from Fury and Katya. Natasha was more composed and looked calm from the outside, but Katya knew better than that. 

''Target saturation reached. All targets assigned.''

''Fire when ready.'' Her heart was beating so loud that it filled her ears. Were they really going to fail today?

Katya held her breath when they started counting down and her eyes were burning holes in the screen, willing the red dots to disappear. But nothing happened as the numbers were counted out loud. 

''Firing in, three, two, one.''


	46. And It All Goes Down

''Three, two, one...''

It were the longest seconds of her life as Katya hoped and prayed that some miracle would happen. That somehow, Steve would come through or the building lost electricity, but every second, it stayed awfully quiet.

Right on the count of zero, nobody expected it to go wrong anymore, all targets disappeared from the screen. All of them, at once, blipped away.

''Where are the targets? Where are the targets!?'' The voice through the ceiling yelled, but Katya barely noticed it. A wide smile was tugging at her lips, but she refused to celebrate too quickly. You know what happens if you do.

She shared a relieved look with Fury and turned to Natasha, who had a triumphant look in her eyes. The silent smiles between them was enough to frustrate Pierce even more than he already was. Faintly, Katya registered Maria talking in her ear. ''Okay, Cap, get out of there.''

The millions of targets previously displayed on screen, turned into only three: the Helicarriers themselves. In the end, the ultimate weapons would destroy themselves. 

What irony. 

''Fire now.''

Katya was abruptly thrown off her throne by Steve's answer. Her smile dropped and light panic filled her eyes. Of course Natasha, who was still looking at her, noticed her change in demeanor immediately.  
''What's wrong?'' she asked worried, since she couldn't hear Maria and so had no idea what was going on outside the room. 

''But, Steve...'' Maria tried.

''Steve, please don't.'' Katya and Maria's voices must have blended together in Steve's ear, but he didn't have to understand the words to know they were protests. 

''Do it! Do it now!''

''Katya??'' Natasha tried to pull her attention back to her. Not knowing what was going on was frustrating her.

''Rogers is not clear, but he ordered Hill to fire.'' Was HYDRA going to get a reason to celebrate after all?

Natasha's face dropped, as well as Fury's, and they all turned to the windows, watching with pain in their hearts as the Helicarriers started firing on each other. 

Nobody knew what to say as the gunshots rang out and echoed between the different parts of the Triskelion. Destroying the Helicarriers was both necessary and symbolic. It marked the end of SHIELD as the world knew it, but it also signaled the end of HYDRA and lies.

With mixed feelings, Katya stared at the floating boats. The same kind her adventure with the Avengers started on. Even without SHIELD, she had the feeling the Avengers would continue. The world needed them, whether they liked it or not. That new family she got, it wasn't gone.

Pierce interrupted the vacuum of silence in the room and brought their attention back to the HYDRA leader they still had to deal with. ''What a waste.''

''Are you still on the fence about Rogers' chances?'' Natasha dryly asked him.

''Time to go, Councilwoman.'' Pierce gestured for Natasha to move. Despite controlling her now, he still didn't dare touch her. ''This way, come on. You're gonna fly me out of here.'' Apparently, her comment had been his cue to leave. 

This was exactly what Katya was afraid off: Pierce ordering around Natasha because he had her life in his hands, literally. And he knew Katya would never try anything if it meant putting Natasha's life in danger. 

So while her body screamed to shoot him, all she could do was watch powerlessly. 

But Natasha wouldn't be Natasha, the great Black Widow, if she didn't have something up her sleeve. And Fury knew that as well. ''You know, there was a time I would have taken a bullet for you,'' he tried to stall and distract Pierce, which worked because he walked behind Natasha and didn't pay attention to her actions. 

Katya smiled to herself when she noticed Natasha was holding her iconic weapon in her hand and realized what she was planning on doing.

A disk as small as a coin, but powerful enough to knock the largest enemy out with one single press on the button. In this case, enough power to knock out a small woman and fry the murder pin on her chest and claim back control over her life. 

She went down immediately after she pressed it, the pin sizzling and breaking. Pierce looked at his phone in horror when he realized he lost her and was without leverage. Now, Katya finally had the chance to do what she wanted to do since stepping in there: shooting Pierce.

Two gunshots hit the man's chest rapidly after each other. Two guns smoking. 

Fury had grabbed a gun from a fallen HYDRA guard and shot at almost the exact same time as Katya did. 

Pierce fell through the glass wall behind him and it all came down with a loud noise. 

Katya hurried towards Natasha as soon as she saw Fury had Pierce under control. The woman was unconscious on the floor, still looking as graceful and beautiful as ever. 

''Nat! Natasha! Wake up, come on.'' Katya tapped her fingers to Natasha's cheek, her worries growing the longer she didn't react. 

Finally, one eyebrow moved and her eyes opened with some trouble. ''Ow,'' she groaned, ''Those really do sting.''

Katya exhaled in relief and couldn't help the small laugh escaping her, shaking her head at Natasha's statement. 

''You scared the shit out of me.'' Katya stood and extended her hand to help Natasha up.

''Yeah, sorry about that,'' she smiled. Pierce's body on the ground caught her eye, the two gunshot wounds in his chest heavily bleeding. ''You?'' 

Katya nodded, looking at the man with indifference. ''And Fury.''

''Damn, I wanted to be the one to do that.''

Katya smiled again, turning to Natasha again. ''Sorry babe, but don't worry, dozens more HYDRA assholes to fight for you.'' She handed her the extra gun she had grabbed from the ground and checked her own magazine, eight bullets left.

While they had been talking, Fury had been making sure that Pierce was really down and didn't have anybody coming to save him now, but it didn't take a genius to see death would be coming for the HYDRA leader soon. 

''He's down, let's move.'' Fury stepped away from Pierce after giving him one last glance and holstering his gun. 

Katya and Natasha followed him towards the helicopter they had come in, leaving others to clean up the mess they were walking out on. 

''Please tell me you brought my suit so I don't have to fight in a skirt and pumps,'' Natasha asked Katya, her heels clicking on the floor. 

'''Course I did, it's in the back.''

Katya jumped in the front, next to Fury, who insisted on flying again. And since the Helicarriers were literally falling out of the sky and into the building, she wasn't going to protest. 

One of them crashed into the lake blow, just as they were lifting off the platform. It creaked and snapped in half as it toppled over and fell back into the hanger it came from. Millions of dollars gone, just like that. 

''Ehm, sir?'' Katya's eyes grew big at the sight of another Carrier, this one heading straight towards the Triskelion. No way the building would hold, and there were still lots of people inside. 

''Please, tell me you got that chopper in the air!'' Sam's panicked voice sounded through her headset. Everyone in the helicopter was wearing one, connected to Sam, Steve and Maria's commline, however, they only heard what was spoken directly to them. So Katya had lost any sense of what Sam was doing or if Steve was still alive.

''Sam, where are you!?'' Natasha yelled over the wind and the sound of the rotator blades. The back of the helicopter was open and the wind blew her red hair everywhere.

''41st floor, north-west corner!'' He was panicked and out of breath and the collapse of the building was clearly audible through his comms.

Katya's eyes biggened at the realization of where Sam was exactly. ''Jezus, he is inside the building?'' she asked no one in particular.

''We're on it, stay where you are!'' Fury pulled on the controls, flying as close to the building as possible while avoiding falling rubble and crashing Carriers. 

''Not an option!'' 

Next thing Katya knew, Sam crashed through the window a couple stories up from where they were flying and his body was falling through the air. Fury rolled the helicopter on its side so the door opening was up and Sam curled his body to a ball, trying to avoid any limbs hitting the outside.

Natasha caught his arm just in time and pulled him back into the safety of the vehicle. The first thing he said wasn't thank you, it was angry yelling at Fury. ''41st floor! 41st!''

''It's not like they put the floor numbers on the outside of the building!'' the ex-director answered sarcastically, and despite the tension of the situation, Katya chuckled. 

''Hill, where's Steve? You got a location on Rogers?'' Natasha asked worried.

''I'm afraid I don't. His comms have gone dark and I can't track him.''

Sam was deeply worried and scared for his new found friend. ''Just keep circling around, he has to turn up somewhere.''

Katya turned around in her seat to look at the guy she immediately liked as soon as she had met him and saw the frustration in his eyes. ''I'm sorry Sam, but he may not come through this time.''

''I can't keep flying here,'' Fury confirmed. ''It's too dangerous.''

He turned away from the building, over the lake, towards the woods. Away from the place Katya had called her home for the last few years. 

Some people say home isn't a place, it's a person. And although Katya can say that that is true for her, she liked another saying better. Home isn't a place, or a person, it's a feeling. It is feeling loved, appreciated and safe. 

The sun reflecting off the lake made it hard to see what was going on down there, but suddenly, Sam shouted out. ''There! I see him!''

It took some time to see where exactly he was pointing, but soon, everyone saw it: Steve lay at the edge of the lake, on the little strip of sand surrounding it. His blue, white and red suit was impossible to miss, even from such a distance. 

He was just lying there, on his back, not moving at all. There was nobody else in sight, but it was impossible he just washed up on shore like that. 

''Well, I'll be damned,'' Fury mumbled to himself, steering the helicopter back towards the beach. ''I can't land here, and we can't stay, you'll be on your own,'' Fury said to Sam as he prepared to jump out of the vehicle which was hovering a couple feet above the ground. 

Although there was nothing more they wanted to do than help Steve, staying here would mean the authorities would be all over them within hours and they needed time to figure all this out before turning themselves in. 

But while Katya and Natasha would probably be saved from prison by their superhero status alone, Fury could never be seen again. Now that the whole world knew he was the director of SHIELD, a huge price stood on his head. Lots of people wanted him dead and he knew too much to live publicly. 

''I know, get out of here.'' With one last glance at his new friends, Sam jumped out and concerned himself over Steve's body. 

Now that it was all over, paramedics would undoubtedly be here soon, so all he had to do was flag one of them. Besides, Steve was a literal super soldier, he would be fine.

Slowly, the Triskelion moved further and further away, the city slowly making place for the countryside. ''Where're we going, sir?'' Katya asked as she realized Fury hadn't given them a destination.

''The only safe house that's not on SHIELD files.''

''He was gone two weeks and the whole organization went to hell. He won't be happy,'' Natasha said from the back. The tension and adrenaline was slowly leaving their bodies and the exhaustion was truly setting in. 

A couple weeks at Clint's farm was exactly what everyone could use to calm down and rest up for the next adventure that would undoubtedly come. 

''Yeah, well he can join the club.''


	47. Tying Up Loose Ends

It had been a couple weeks since SHIELD fell. 

Steve had woken up in the hospital after a couple days with Sam sitting right next to his bed. From what Katya had caught from Natasha's phone calls to Sam, he had a couple gunshot wounds to his body and lots of bruises all over, but would be fine. Just like she had expected. 

After being dismissed, both men had disappeared off radar and dodged the media and the government. To nobody's surprise, Steve hadn't been called for a hearing concerning his actions for SHIELD and the fall of it. 

To nobody's surprise either, both Katya and Natasha had been called in for a hearing. With the whole world having access to their SHIELD files and their history as spies, it was just a matter of time until somebody wanted an explanation.

Both women had been recovering and gaining their strength back after everything. Although Natasha had had gunshot wounds before, they were a bitch to recover from. So it was just a lot of resting and being pampered by Laura, Clint's girlfriend, whether they wanted to or not.

Katya's shoulder had been operated on by a doctor who owed Fury some debts and did everything off record. She had no idea what exactly they had done, but over the course of weeks, she had begun to feel a lot better. 

Between Laura's good food, physiotherapy and lots of medicine, it had started to heal nicely and she was able to use it more and more for light movement. It would take months before everything was healed nicely and she could start training again. Until then, it was accepting other people's help, which she hated, and taking it one step at a time.

Natasha had refused to be heard in front of a committee until Katya felt better and didn't need her as much anymore and they could go together. No way was either of them letting the other face all of that alone, even though they could handle it.

Other's opinions on them never mattered and Katya didn't care about what other people thought of her, even if in this case, 'other people' meant the whole world. Because that is who would be watching the hearing live on television. But that's what you get for being an Avenger and being known everywhere. 

Nobody had heard from Fury since he had dropped them off at Clint's, but they weren't surprised or offended. Disappearing meant having no contact with anyone, especially with two of the world's best known spies with questionable pasts.

Currently, Natasha and Katya were on a government airplane on their way to Washington D.C., where the hearing would take place. Since they were no longer SHIELD agents, they didn't have any Quinjets at their disposal anymore, which meant they were dependent on the transport they were offered by others. 

Katya had eyed the amounts of security inside and around the plane with one unimpressed eyebrow. They were treated like criminals and highly dangerous, although they were no different than that day in 2012 in New York City.

White clouds prevented Katya from seeing the city down below as the plane started their descent into the nation's capital. Across from her, Natasha was reading something on her tablet like she was unbothered by all of it, but Katya couldn't share that feeling.

Believe it or not, she didn't like having lots of eyes on her and was nervous about the committees verdict. Natasha had reassured her they wouldn't throw them in jail because they needed them, but nobody stood above the law, not even the Avengers.

''Did I mention that I think you look beautiful?'' For today's outfit, Natasha had chosen to wear something very similar to what she was wearing when she was disguised as the councilwoman. Everybody saw the footage from that room and what she did to take HYDRA down. This outfit was a reminder of what she had done that day and on which side she really stood. 

Pair that blazer, pencil skirt and heels with bright, perfect red hair and you get a gorgeous woman with deadly skills. 

Natasha looked up from her tablet, her eyes soft and relaxed. ''No, but I love hearing you say it,'' she teased. ''You don't look so bad yourself.''

Katya only wore dresses when necessary or for parties, but not for stuff like this. What she didn't expect was to find the perfect suit on her bed one day. It was a dark grey with long pants and a white blouse and fitted her body perfectly. There was nothing else attached to it except a note: 'For good luck. May the world see the amazing woman my kids see. Love, Laura.'

She almost cried when she read it and didn't know how to repay Laura for it. But the woman just brushed it away and told her she had helped around in the house and played with the kids enough to earn it.

''You don't have to be nervous,'' Natasha said, seeing only a faint smile appear on Katya's face.

''I know, and I don't want to be, but I can't help it. I grew up in HYDRA for god's sake.''

''Stop it,'' Katya's downgrading comments on herself were cut off by Natasha, who hated hearing them. ''You had no say in that. You have proven yourself loyal to SHIELD hundreds of times and if they can't see that, then screw them.''

The guards on the other side of the aisle looked at them weirdly, but Natasha just narrowed her eyes at them and they turned back immediately. 

''I'm just saying, the only opinions that should matter to you are of the people that love you, and you already know how I think of you.''

Katya looked at her hands in her lap before meeting Natasha's determined eyes. ''I love you.''

''I know. Now let’s do this thing and get out of there.''

A black, heavily armored car was waiting for them right outside of the plane to take them to the building. They would be heard at the same time, which wasn't normal procedure, but gave them a chance to broadcast it all at once and would be much easier concerning security.

The closer they came to the building, the more busier it became on the street. Everyone knew this was going down now, so photographers and news outlets had arrived early to claim a good spot along the route. But there were also normal people gathered around the building. Some held signs and most of them had their phone at the ready to catch the Avengers on camera. 

Security was heavy and despite the situation, Katya almost felt like a celebrity or president, which didn't help with her nerves at all. A hand tightly grasped her own and gave her reassuring squeezes. 

The car came to a stop in front of the big, double doors of the enormous building. Before security even opened the car door, bright flashes from cameras were already starting. Natasha stepped out first and immediately, they were screaming her name, trying to get a picture or a statement, but she had no time for them. 

Instead, she turned around and helped Katya out of the car, making sure to keep her close and hold her hand while walking through the crowd and into the building. 

''Ms. Romanoff, where have you been hiding these past few weeks?''

''Ms. Petrova, is it true that you have killed for HYDRA?''

''Where is Captain America?''

''Are your friendships with the Avengers over?''

''How long have you been together?''

All kinds of questions were thrown at them, and it was hard not to hear them. Katya just did her best to keep her head up and look straight ahead. The hand in her own was grounding her as much as it was grounding Natasha, although she didn't know that. 

This was also the first time the public ever saw them as more than friends. Of course, people had suspicions and some gossip had gone around, but neither one of them had ever confirmed anything. But now that their files were available for free on the internet, there was no use in hiding it anymore. 

Besides, Katya didn't want to. She wanted the whole world to know they were together and belonged together. She had been owned by many different organizations and bad people in her life, this was the first time she actually chose to belong to someone because she wanted to. And not as a form of possession, but as two parts belonging together. 

''Are you okay?'' Natasha genuinely asked her as soon as the doors closed behind them and the yelling was muffled. 

''Yeah, I'm fine. Let's just keep going.'' She wanted this whole thing to be over with already.

But the situation inside the hearing room wasn't any better. There were just as much reporters and journalists with cameras and microphones there as there were outside. They were able to come real close to where they would be sitting, which was also frightening.

A woman guided them towards their seats as they waited for the committee to arrive, which they did after a while. It was probably meant to intimidate them or show them who is pulling the strings here, but Katya was just bored after thirty minutes of waiting and acting like she wasn't affected by all of this.

One by one, the members started pouring in and Katya hated them immediately. They were privileged people, arrogant and full of themselves. 

Natasha was called forward to be sworn in first, then it was Katya's turn to put her hand on the Bible in front of the whole nation.

''Do you solemnly swear to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth?'' The lady asked her.

''I do.'' Two simple words, saying to everyone in the room and everyone watching that whatever would come out of her mouth, it would be the truth.

She only just sat down as the first question was asked. Clearly, somebody couldn't wait to interrogate them. ''Ms. Romanoff, why haven't we yet heard from Captain Rogers?''

Natasha crossed her arms, putting up an I'm-better-than-everybody-here- look and sat up straight in her chair. She pretended to think about it for a second, letting a silence fall. ''I don't know what there is left for him to say. I think the wreck in the middle of the Potomac made his point fairly eloquently.''

Despite her nerves, Katya had trouble keeping the smile and adoration off her face. It was amazing to see Natasha dive into character and piss everyone off with her arrogant and bored facade. The annoyance on the committee general's face was too funny to see and it only got worse the more she told him off.

''Well, he could explain how this country's expected to maintain its national security now that he, you and Ms. Petrova next to you have laid waste to our intelligence apparatus.''

He made a wrong move mentioning Katya and she was already done with his bullshit. ''HYDRA was selling you lies, not intelligence.''

''Many of which you seem to have had a personal hand in telling.'' Before she could even answer, he continued on, but not before clearly moving from Natasha to Katya, who sat up straighter with his strict eye on him.

''Which brings me to you, Ms. Petrova. Years of lying and killing innocents for HYDRA, until you escape and Ms. Romanoff takes you into SHIELD. For all we know, you are still undercover and have never given up the believes you grew up in.''

''Like you said, General, I escaped, risking my life wanting to be free like any other kid should be. Not being brainwashed and forced into murder. SHIELD gave me a second chance your government would have never given me.''

''Is that what happened, or are you just looking for excuses to justify your behavior? You're right, we would have never let a terrorist spy live on our grounds.''

''I never wanted to do any of that and I am not justifying anything. Yes I have made massive mistakes in my life and no I do not deserve forgiveness for that, but I am not asking for any. I have to live with those images and deaths every day. The only thing I want is to move forward and never go back there, ever. The only thing I can do is try and make up for all the wrong I did by continuing to protect this country to which I owe everything.''

The General blinked slowly, trying to process everything she had said. Katya exhaled a shaky breath, trying not to falter in her strong appearance. Next to her, Natasha had a proud smile on her face which said: suck on that, General.

With her speech, the whole point of the hearing was summarized at the same time. It was everything they wanted to hear. At least, the General didn't have anything else to say.

But another one had more to say. And he said exactly what Katya had expected they would say. ''Agents, you should know that there are some on this committee who feel, given your service record, both for this country and against it, that you belong in a penitentiary, not mouthing off on Capitol Hill.''

''You're not gonna put me or her in a prison.'' Natasha shook her head, speaking with confidence. ''You're not gonna put any of us in a prison. You know why?''

''Do enlighten us,'' the guy said dryly.

''Because you need us. Yes, the world is a vulnerable place, and yes, we helped make it that way. But we're also the ones best qualified to defend it. So if you want to arrest us, arrest us. You'll know where to find us.''

He stared at her with an open mouth, having nothing to bring into that. He looked at the General for back up, but he had the same look on his face. All this was enough for Natasha to know this hearing was over. Like she had suspected, it had resulted in nothing. 

Without a warning or some kind of goodbye, she stood up and prepared to leave. Katya did the same, giving the committee a smug smile and following her girlfriend through the crowds of reporters, who were yelling again and shoving cameras in their faces. But this time, it didn't bother her anymore. 

She got to say what she wanted, now it was up to the rest of the world to decide whether they believed her. 

~~~~~~~~

Katya and Natasha's heels made soft clicking noises on the sidewalk as they were on their way to the cemetery, where they had set up a meeting with Steve. They hadn't seen each other since that day SHIELD fell and to be honest, Katya looked forward to seeing the Captain and Sam again. After this adventure, she could truly say she considered them her friends, and that wasn't something she said of a whole lot of people.

''You did good in there,'' Natasha said as they walked through the entrance gate over the pebbles, which was a bitch to walk on with their high heels. It had been a couple hours since the hearing and they had changed clothes in the hotel they were staying at before heading out again. It was a habit they had to get used to again, since they had to go into hiding for some time. 

A lot of their old enemies had all their safe houses and aliases in their hands, they had to find new ones. 

''I said what I wanted to, it is up to the world to decide whether they believe me.'' Katya looked around the graveyard, the trees lightly moving in the wind and the sun illuminating the neatly trimmed grass.   
''You looked like you were enjoying yourself, though,'' she smiled at Natasha.

''I was,'' Natasha laughed. ''Although it was your speech that shut them up.''

Katya smiled and let a silence fall, thinking back to that moment and all the things she felt.

''I wasn't only speaking for me, you know.'' She had stopped walking, something she wanted to say was burning on her tongue. ''I know you feel like you don't deserve forgiveness either, and how much you struggle with your past every day, but those mistakes are made, no going back. From now on, only looking forward, okay?'' 

Despite the sad look in her eyes, Natasha smiled and nodded. ''Okay.''

Three figures in the distance were the only movement in the field: Steve, Sam and Fury, concealed by some trees. It was a bad place to meet with too much exposure for any one of them to be too long, so the meeting would have to be short.

''Alright then.'' The wind carried Fury's voice to the two women before they reached them. 

The director looked completely different without his long coat and his eyepatch. They had made place for a short leather jacket with a hood and a pair of sunglasses. Together with the sling around his shoulder, he looked out of place and lost, although nobody would ever describe him that way.

Sam and Steve shook the man's hand as a way of saying goodbye, knowing the chance would be small they would ever see each other again. ''Anybody asks for me, tell them they can find me right here.'' He gestured towards the gravestone that was placed there after he was declared dead. A ghost standing next to his own grave.

''You should be honored, that's about as close as he gets to saying thank you.'' Natasha made their presence known. And although Fury undoubtedly heard her, he didn't turn back around. 

Steve walked up to them, as Sam stayed right where he was, not wanting to intrude in the conversation. ''Not going with him?'' Steve's eyes switched between Natasha and Katya as he spoke.

''No,'' Katya answered for the both of them, shaking her head with a kind smile.

''Not staying here?'' Steve guessed.

This time, Natasha answered. ''Nah. We blew all our covers, gotta go figure out new ones.''

''That might take a while.''

Natasha looked at Katya before answering. ''We're counting on it.'' There was a short pause as Natasha watched Steve like she was hesitating on something. ''That thing you asked for,'' he handed him the file on the Winter Soldier, or 'James Barnes' as he was called, who apparently was Steve's childhood friend. ''I called in a few favors from Kiev.''

Steve stared at the file in his hands, his face falling. 

''Will you do us a favor?'' Katya interrupted his thinking. ''Call that nurse.''

''She's not a nurse,'' he smiled. He found that out the hard way, with her kicking in his door when Fury was bleeding out on the floor of his apartment. 

''And you're not a SHIELD agent,'' she reflected back, to which his smile widened and he thought about it. 

''What was her name again?''

''Sharon. She's nice,'' Natasha answered. She gave Steve a kiss on the cheek as a goodbye and Katya shot him a wink, then she waved at Sam, who gave her a big smile. She had a feeling she would see both of them soon. Something told her her days with the Avengers weren't over and that Sam would find his way to them.

Natasha turned around one last time before completely walking away. ''Be careful, Steve. You might not want to pull on that thread,'' she warned. But Katya knew he wasn't going to listen.   
She could feel Steve and Sam's eyes on them as they walked out of the cemetery. 

Somehow, at the end of it all, she had gained something from it all: a new sense of freedom and new friends. In the end, you have to focus on the positives and not on the things you have lost. And while it may take a while for everything to turn to normal again and they would have to keep looking over their shoulders for the next few months, Katya weirdly looked forward to it.

This would be the first time it was just her and Natasha. No obligations to anyone or anything. No job and nothing to do. After years of dedicating themselves to SHIELD, which they had both loved, they had earned some time off to figure themselves out.

Although both of them knew one thing for sure: the world hadn't seen the last of them.


	48. We're Back

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Minor spoiler for Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., but nothing that spoiles the storyline of the show.*   
> If you haven't seen that show btw, you are really missing out because it has an amazing new storyline every season with amazing characters.  
> Oh and besides Natasha, I definitely have a crush on Daisy.
> 
> Anyways, enjoy ;)

Two months. That's how long Katya and Natasha had had time off before they got dragged into another fight. 

With the fall of SHIELD, lots of bases and secret facilities fell victim to robbing and escaped prisoners. Lots of HYDRA agents made off with dangerous weapons and went underground, slithering back to into the shadows like the snakes they were. 

They were hard to trace and there were far too many to take on without a team. And that was the thing Katya was lacking. 

SHIELD agents found jobs everywhere else. Some applied to the CIA or another intelligence organization, some dove into a completely different lifestyle, wanting nothing to do with the intelligence business anymore. Others started working for private contractors, and there were even some who turned on their former employer: selling secrets and the tech they had.

Everything had collapsed, and there was nobody to clean up the mess. Like she had suspected, Katya hadn't heard from Fury after that day in the graveyard, which was the last place she had seen him. 

Someone she did get a call from, was another ghost, although this one was quite literally a ghost. 

Agent Phil Coulson, the man she had seen being stabbed through the heart and definitely dying. He called her while her and Natasha were somewhere between Thailand and Cambodia, driving through no-man’s-land in an old jeep. It had taken awhile before she had even registered the sound, since nobody had called her for weeks.

To say that hearing his voice shocked her, was quite an understatement. She had almost cried, missing the man more than she thought. He had always been kind of a rock to her, a place of stability and someone she could just be herself around. Just like Fury, Coulson had the tendency to take people under his wing who could use some stability

After the initial shock had set in, he had told her about everything that had happened to him, how he was resurrected and why almost nobody knew about his existence. Apparently, he had been running his own team of agents and was rebuilding SHIELD on his own, with him as director.

He asked Katya if they needed a place to stay, in the hope they would stick around. But she knew that just being there would bring their undercover operation in danger. It felt good to know that SHIELD wasn't completely gone and that it was now in the hands of someone she trusted completely to build it up again, in the right way, but that part of her life was officially over and she had accepted that.

It had been silent after his phone call, and while they were technically on the run, Katya and Natasha were enjoying their life without a job. At least for a while. All the things they never had time for, they got to do now. Actually see the cities they were going instead of being on mission there, doing things because they wanted to and not because they were ordered to, just enjoy each other's company without always somebody around or someone watching. 

But even that came to an end when one morning (at least it was morning in Mumbai) Katya's phone rang again. She had gotten a new one, but apparently, everybody seemed to know her number. 

The air conditioning hummed softly in the silent room, while outside, the endless honking of traffic had never stopped. She turned around in her bed carefully, trying not to disturb Natasha, who had trapped her in her arms and had never looked more peaceful and calm. 

The bright screen blinded Katya as she looked at the caller ID. With the roll of her eyes and a silent sigh, she pressed answer, knowing he would keep ringing her if she ignored him.

''What do you want, Stark?''

''That is no way to greet a friend, Petrova.'' His cheerful voice was too much this early in the morning, but according to the time, it was evening in New York, assuming he was there.

''Oh, I'm sorry. What is it you require, Mr. Stark?'' Katya sarcastically asked, keeping her voice to a whisper. 

''Is your red-haired, scary girlfriend around? This kind of concerns you both.''

''She's sleeping. Lucky for you, you didn't wake her with your early morning phone call, unlike me.''

''Just wake her up and tell her that we have a situation here in New York that we could really use your help on, full team effort.'' There was some rustling in the background, like things getting picked up and moved around. Tony probably called through Jarvis, always the multitasker.

Katya was suddenly interested, knowing that he didn't call her for fun, but he actually needed their help on something. And according to the tone of his voice, it was quite serious, especially if it meant an Avengers Assembly. ''What is it?'' 

''Maybe it's best if my employee answers that question for you.'' Employee? ''Thanks Stark,'' Katya recognized the sarcastic and annoyed voice as Maria Hill immediately. She hadn't known that Hill worked for Stark now, but it made sense and Katya was actually very happy she stayed with the Avengers. They needed people they could trust and Maria was one of those people.

''Katya? Stark is right, we need your help. Remember Loki's scepter? Well, apparently, it fell into HYDRA hands after the fall of SHIELD, and knowing the power it holds and the destruction they could bring with it, we need to find it as soon as possible.''

''Why call us now and not before?''

''We only just found a lead on it. It is not much, but like I said, given the danger it proposes, every second counts. This is definitely an Avengers mission.''

Katya thought about it, like she was contemplating whether to say no, but she also knew the second Stark called her, she was in. The simple life had been fun as long as it lasted, but now, the world needed her again and to be honest, she had missed it a little.

''I'm sorry to pull you out of your break like this, but the team isn't complete without you two.''

''Of course we'll be there, just let me wake up Nat and we'll be there in-'' she looked at the clock on the nightstand, calculating the time it would take to pack everything, get to the airport and book a flight to New York- ''22 hours.''

''Actually...''

Of course there was already a Quinjet waiting around the corner of the motel. It had been one of the last ones to survive the fall of SHIELD, and instead of the giant bird on the wings, it now had a large 'A'. It was a bit much and not inconspicuous at all, but that was Stark, inconspicuous was not in his dictionary.

Katya was surprised to see that even the God of Thunder had made it to Stark Tower before she had Natasha did. Actually, it was Avengers Tower now, with the large sign on the top also being changed to a large 'A'. Again with the subtlety. 

The tower had been heavily damaged in the battle of New York, three years prior, and instead of just repairing the damage, Tony had seen it as his chance to completely renovate the otherwise perfectly good building. So now it held accommodations for every Avenger, with everyone having their own floor and state of the art technology and equipment. 

Stark had thought of everything; new suits for everyone, weapons that suited every Avenger perfectly, just everything you could want or think off was there. Anyone who said Tony Stark only thought about himself, was lying. The man had the biggest heart, he just put up an act for the world to uphold his image and protect himself. In reality, he was one of the best friends you could ask for. 

Although he did get a bit annoying sometimes. 

''Well, goodbye freedom, hello society.'' Katya sighed as the Quinjet landed on top of the tower and she went to grab her luggage, which was nothing more than one bag of clothes. Being a spy meant carrying little stuff so it was easy to move and quick to gather. 

''You sound way too bitter about that,'' Natasha smiled, walking towards the ramp and pushing the button to open it.

''I am,'' Katya pouted excessively. ''Two months without those guys full of testosterone and big egos and now we get all four of them at once. It's a cold shower compared to travelling Asia with you.''

Natasha laughed an airy laugh, stepping down the ramp and moving towards the outer doors of the tower, who were the end of their private time and the start of a new chapter: one as a full-time Avenger. ''Whether they like it or not, they need us. Without us, they would never get anything done.''

''That's definitely true. It's hard carrying this team on our backs.''

''I think you might be overstating things there, Romanoff.'' Steve's voice travelled through the corridor, his feet not far behind. The smile on his face was genuine, but there was also a hint of exhaustion behind it. It undoubtedly had something to do with the search for Barnes, which didn't seem to be going well. 

''Hi Steve,'' Natasha greeted him with a small hug, which was new to Katya and Steve, who didn't see it coming but accepted anyway.

''You guys are looking good,'' he smiled while Katya gave him a handshake. She was happy to see him, but it also brought back a lot of memories she had pushed away. 

''You're not,'' Natasha observed concerned, seeing the same thing Katya saw. It didn't help that Steve was bad at lying and acting, so when his face fell, it became painfully clear that the search indeed wasn't going well. ''Search for Barnes isn't going well?''

''I'm not giving up on him.'' The determination on his face was enough for Katya to believe him. ''He would do the same for me.''

''No Sam though?'' Katya looked behind Steve into the corridor, but the soldier was on his own.

Steve shook his head. ''He's still out there. He's been a huge support.''

Natasha patted his shoulder in a comforting way. ''I'm happy you have him.''

Steve nodded his head in thanks, his head clearly somewhere else than the conversation. Like everyone else on this team, he didn't like opening up about his struggles. A therapist could earn serious money in this building. 

''Are you going to keep standing there, or are you going to say hello to the rest of us too?''

''Clint.'' Katya smiled widely and engulfed him in a big hug, which he happily accepted. Since the moment he trusted her into his home, he had always felt like a big brother, as someone more than just a colleague or a friend.

''Good to see you.'' He broke the hug, keeping Katya at arm’s length, studying her carefully. Coming to the conclusion that she was relaxed and feeling good, he smiled even bigger. ''You look great, Katya. Everything went well? No trouble underway?''

Katya shrugged casually, shaking her head. ''No trouble at all. It was actually really smooth.'' Her blonde hair had grown a little longer over the past few months. Nothing too spectacular, but it fell over her shoulders now. She was still doubting over whether to cut it off again or keep it like this. 

Clint started walking towards the main floor, where undoubtedly the other two Avengers would be waiting for them. Katya hoisted her bag further up her shoulder and tried to keep up with his fast pace. 

''But I'm ready to go to work again. Retirement is a little too early for me.''

''I thought you would say that.'' The hallways twisted and turned, on both sides dozen of different doors. Some with a tag glued to them, 'storage', 'lab 3', some with windows, but most were just plain black. Learning the layout of this tower would be a bitch, knowing how many floors it had and how many things happened in there.

''So where have you been?'' Clint asked interested in their adventures. 

''Mostly Asia.'' Katya replied, getting used to her new surroundings, the cameras and the exits. Call it a habit. ''India, Thailand, we even went to Bali, but nothing compares to home and apparently, home is now this ginormous tower.'' She gestured around.

''You'll get used to it. Stark really thought of everything, I think you'll like it here.'' As if on cue, they arrived in the main room. Calling it a living room would be an offence to the gigantic space. Large, high windows covered the outside wall from top to bottom, left to right, giving an amazing view of the city. 

The first thing it did was give Katya flashbacks to the battle of New York, where Loki broke the first version of the wall. But she could imagine that tonight, when all the city lights were on, it would be an amazing view. 

It had a bar, some nice couches, a pool table and even a second floor. It was more of a balcony, overlooking the floor down below. Stark did an amazing job on it, which he knew all too damn well.

Tony strutted down the stairs, arms wide open as to gesture to everything around him. ''Ah the love birds have arrived at last. Like what you're seeing?''

''If you're talking about the room, I do.''

He moved to the bar, which was something you could catch him doing every hour of the day. ''Drink?''

''It is noon, Stark,'' Natasha playfully reprimanded him from behind Katya, but the blonde woman was already walking over to him. 

''I never say no to some good alcohol.'' Katya sat down at the bar, on one of the leather stools and watched as Tony poured some whisky for her. The jetlag was already bugging her, so some alcohol to help her with that wouldn't hurt anyone. 

He placed the glass on the counter with a fancy twirl of his wrist and a bow. ''One drink for the lady.''

''Oh so now I'm a 'lady'?'' She raised an eyebrow on her face.

Tony danced around behind the bar, moving to make himself a drink too. ''I want to keep my guests happy.''

''Guest, lady,'' Katya raised her drink, ''free drinks, what has gotten into you this morning?''

''What? I can't just be nice for once?'' Tony acted all innocent, sipping his drink casually and a little too fast for her liking. 

Katya narrowed her eyes, trying to find some sign of him lying, but there were none. ''Alright, I will accept it for now.''

''My friends!'' A loud voice came from the elevator and Katya didn't have to turn around to know who it was. ''It is good that we are all here together to look for Loki's scepter.''

Thor walked into the room, having surprisingly normal clothes on. It was weird to see the god without his armor on, but Katya liked this homey version of him. Besides, Thor was a giant teddy bear if you came to know him and was overall just fun to be around. 

''Hello Thor,'' Katya said across the room, giving him a little wave when he looked her way. 

''Ah, it is good to see you are back.'' His big grin was warm and open. ''Thank you for helping me. The scepter belongs on Asgard, not in the hands of humans.''

Natasha perked up at the mention of the mission, the reason they were all together today. ''Yeah, where are you with that. Katya said you had a lead?''

Maria, who had walked out of the elevator together with Thor, gave the tablet in her hands to Natasha, explaining what it said. ''We started monitoring HYDRA backchannels right after the fall of SHIELD. A lot of them activated when everyone moved back into the shadows.''

Katya slid off her chair, finishing her drink quickly and joining the others around the couches. 

''There is some chatter about important locations and things being moved, but they are very careful. Nowhere is the scepter specifically mentioned, but every clue, every lead we get could be important and is worth tracing down. The sooner we get this out of their hands, the smaller the risk at a catastrophe becomes.''

Katya peeked over Natasha's shoulder on the tablet, where all kinds of HYDRA encrypted messages had been decoded by Maria, all talking about assets and objects being moved and sold. But nowhere did it say what it was or when it would happen. 

It would take weeks, probably even months, spitting through all these messages, tracing everything back to the source and checking out every location. 

She knew it wouldn't be easy finding HYDRA's most valued possession, but this would be looking for a needle in a haystack. 

Katya sighed and said to no one in particular, ''Well, I guess we're back.''


	49. Presents And Embarrassment

''Happy birthday, baby,'' Katya whispered in the half-light room, the bright sun promising yet another beautiful day in the city. 

The last few months, they had been looking for Loki's scepter, every mission without any success. Everyone was sick and tired of hitting dead end after dead end, but kicking HYDRA ass never got old.   
They had dismantled a lot of bases and locked up lots of people. 

It wasn't the worst job in the world, but it was discouraging to come up empty at every location. They had been all over the world at this point: Europe, South America, Asia, Africa, you name it, they had been there. The jet lags were the worst to get over each time, but nobody gave up. That wasn't the Avengers. 

They had come back from a mission a week before and would be going on another one soon, but right now, everybody was home, staying busy, keeping up training and staying ready to fight. 

Like every morning, the alarm went at six. Both women liked an early start to their morning, training first thing, then continuing looking for clues. But this day would be different, although Natasha wished it wasn't. 

''Ssshhh, if we ignore it, it won't be real.'' She sat up in bed, rubbing the sleep from her eyes and brushing the hair from her face. Even with her messy bedhead and old t-shirt, Katya found her absolutely stunning. 

''I don't think it works like that. At least I hope not, or I wrapped this for nothing.'' The small box she had wrapped late last night lay underneath their bed, knowing it would be safe there for one night. 

Katya grabbed it, childish excitement filling her stomach as she straddled her girlfriend and offered her the box. 

Natasha eyed the object with surprise, not having expected anything. ''I thought we agreed, no presents.'' The annoyance was fake, because Katya could read her like an open book and knew she deeply appreciated the act. Not many people got her a gift just because they wanted to, did something out of the goodness of their heart. 

''When do I ever listen? Besides, I had a little help with this and he won't be happy if you don't open it.'' Katya didn't have to press, knowing Natasha would accept it after she gave up on her act. 

Natasha narrowed her eyes, but a small smile played on her lips at the excitement on Katya's face. ''Fine, but you owe me one.'' Her delicate hands accepted the gift and started unwrapping the paper. 

''Oh no, after you open this, you owe me one.''

Katya had trouble suppressing her excitement. It was the best gift she had ever given someone, although that wasn't really a measurement, because she never gave anyone gifts. But still, she felt pretty confident about this. 

She carefully read Natasha's eyes when she got to the content of the box, and knew she had hit the mark. 

She had had a hard time thinking about a gift, because what do you get someone who doesn't value stuff, who doesn't decorate or has redundant stuff. It had to be something useful, something she would use often, but not too standard of a gift. 

Katya said nothing as Natasha gently took the weapon out of the small box. It was a deep black, pitch black like the nights in the countryside, small lines running over the entire gun like a spider's web. They were barely there, but had been so delicately placed and finished around the corners that it gave that slight texture to it. 

On the outside, the spider Natasha's codename was based on was placed out of the way of the shooter's grip. The red hourglass on its back the only pop of color on the entire gun. Again: it was very subtle, but it was there.

On the inside, along the length of the barrel, stood a simple text, engraved into the metal by Katya herself. 

я люблю тебя. 

I love you. 

On purpose, Katya didn't talk when Natasha was examining the gun, turning it over and over in her hands as if she couldn't stop looking at it, not really sure it was real. 

This side of Natasha was rare, even for Katya. This was vulnerability at its purest form. And catching her completely off guard to the point that she was lost for words was very rare.

''I - I don't know what to say, this is absolutely beautiful. You really didn't have to.''

Katya wrapped her arms around Natasha's neck, pulling her in for a long hug, which was also quite rare. ''I wanted to. Because I love you,'' she murmured in her ear, referencing to the words on the gun, her voice muffled by thick, red hair.

''I love you too,'' Natasha whispered back softly. 

Katya leaned back, breaking the hug, although she kept her hands intertwined behind Natasha's neck. 

''Stark?'' Natasha asked, guessing the person who had helped her with this. 

Katya nodded, who better to help design a gun than a CEO of a former weapons manufacturer?

''Tony helped me with the technical stuff, because you know how much I suck at that.'' She had gone to Tony with her idea a couple weeks back, a little insecure because she hated asking for help and was afraid he would think it was weird, but in fact, he had jumped at the opportunity to help her and constantly came with improvements and new ideas. 

''But the design is all me,'' she continued explaining, watching as Natasha traced the lines. ''All credits to Tony though, because he was the best help I could have asked for.''

''He probably has the biggest heart of us all. Despite what everyone else thinks, that man is selfless to the core.''

''Agreed.'' Katya shifted in her position, snuggling into Natasha's body, resting her head on her shoulder. Their day normally started right away, no time for cuddling, so this was a nice moment and a great start to the day. 

It was silent in the room, the only sounds coming from the traffic below. Blame that on Tony placing his building right in the city center of one of the busiest cities in the world. Both women were lost into their own thoughts. Katya's mind somehow wandered off to the life she had today, where they had made it together when she thought her life was over at least a dozen times.

''Who would have thought sixteen years ago, that we would be sitting here, together, celebrating your birthday in Avengers Tower, where we protect the world with our superhero team? Because I would have laughed in their face if someone told me then.''

Natasha scrunched up her face just thinking about 1999, the year they were ripped apart and were both sent away. ''That year sucked.''

''I don't think 'sucked' quite covers that year,'' Katya laughed. It was almost weird that it almost didn't do anything to her anymore, while in fact, it was one of the most traumatic experiences of her life. Growth happens without your knowledge, until one day, it doesn't hurt anymore and you can talk about the things that once scarred you deeply.

Natasha quietly hummed, agreeing with Katya. ''You're right, it amazingly sucked.''

''What do you say we test this bad girl out?''

''Absolutely. Let’s wake everyone up.’’ The shooting range was just a couple floors down and although Tony had put the best sound dampening stuff in the walls available on the market, it never fully blocked the sound. Pair that with at least three people who jumped awake at the smallest of sounds and you were guaranteed to have some angry looks at six in the morning. 

They snuck into the room without seeing anyone -apparently even Stark had decided to go to bed last night- and the lights flickered on automatically as soon as Natasha opened the door. 

The shooting range was everything one could ask for. Tony had outdone himself with designing the room to everyone's taste. Moving targets, targets for Clint and his arrows, simulations with all kinds of different lighting and other settings. Everything was adjustable to level of skill and difficulty. 

Although Natasha and Katya were the only ones who really carried guns on missions (Clint had his arrows and preferred knives as alternative), Stark hadn't held back. 

They put the safety glasses and the ear protection on, which muffled all sounds but was quite necessary inside. 

Natasha felt how the gun sat in her hand, testing the weight of it and the way her fingers wrapped around it perfectly. It was the same type of gun she always carried, her favorite one, but Tony had make some adjustments to personalize it and fit it to her technique and grip perfectly.

Clicking the safety off, she aimed at the target straight ahead and pulled the trigger. Once, twice, until the clip was empty. 

Katya stood a few feet behind her, not surprised to see every bullet hitting the dead center of the circle, and couldn't help but smile. It was amazing to see Natasha in her element, kicking ass and shooting guns. 

She lowered her gun, taking her ear protection and glasses off. There was a twinkle of excitement in her green eyes as she studied the gun. ''It's amazing. I can definitely work with this.''

''I can see that,'' Katya laughed, gesturing to the shot-up target.

''Who the hell is-'' Clint pushed through the doors, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Just like they had expected, the shooting had woken at least one person. He was about to yell at the person guilty for the noise, until he saw Natasha with the gun still in her hand. ''Never mind, forget I said anything, can't yell at the birthday girl on her birthday.''

Her head whipped back to Katya. ''How many people did you tell about it?''

''Hey, don't look at me,'' her hands raised in surrender, ''I didn't tell him anything.''

Clint interrupted them quickly. ''She didn't have to. Did you really think I would forget my best friend's birthday?''

Natasha narrowed her eyes at him in a sort of warning. ''You didn't get me anything, did you?''

''No. You said you didn't want anything and that if I did, you would kill me,'' Clint answered a little confused, like he didn't understand where this was coming from. ''Why?''

Then his eye fell on the gun and saw it wasn't just a regular one from the armory. ''Oh,'' his eyes widened in realization. He plucked it from her hand and turned it around in his own, studying the design and feeling the weight just like Natasha had done earlier. ''Oh wow this is beautiful.'' He looked up at Katya, who had a proud smile on her lips. ''Your work, I presume?''

She nodded and he turned to look at it again, but it was snatched out of his hands by Natasha, who threw him a warning look. ''It's mine.''

''Okay, okay, I get it, jeez woman.'' Katya laughed at the innocence on his face and the easiness of the conversation. There were too many heavy discussions lately, with people getting frustrated over the search for the scepter. Every now and then, they needed some lightless to balance all that negativity out. 

''But hey, since you're up, you wanna spar? I think I lost my training buddy for the day.'' Katya jabbed her thumb to Natasha, who was reloading her gun, clearly not finished for today.

Clint sighed, running his hand through his hair. ''It's not a suggestion, is it?''

''Nope, let's go.'' She grabbed his wrist and dragged him towards the exit, leaving Natasha to play with her new toy. ''Have fun babe!'' Katya yelled over her shoulder, right before disappearing through the doors. 

''She wasn't mad you got her something?'' Clint asked as soon as Natasha was out of hearing range. The tower was still silent, but it probably won't be long until the rest woke up. Everyone liked an early start and hated sleeping in. There was enough to do, the world to save.

''How can anyone be mad at this face?''

Clint scoffed. ''You're lucky she loves you. She wouldn't have talked to me for a week if I got her something.'' His laugh echoed through the hallway.

''That's probably true,'' Katya laughed with him, just thinking about how pissed Natasha would be at something as small as a birthday present. She hated having people's attention and didn't want them spending their money for her. Lucky for Katya, her present had cost her nothing but a drink with Stark, who often had to drink alone and appreciated some company.

Oh and credit of course, because he liked bragging about stuff he made.

''That was the only thing though, right?'' Clint asked insecure. ''Because otherwise I feel like a very bad friend if you get to spoil her and I don't.''

''Oh no, the rest of the spoiling is for tonight,'' she smirked. 

Clint covered his ears like a child who had heard something he wasn't supposed to, scrunching up his face in disgust. ''Ughhhh noo stop.''

Katya laughed out loud at his ridiculous face and overreaction. ''You asked.''

''Yes, but I don't have to hear about your sex life!'' Clint exclaimed, just deeply embarrassed, his face turning redder by the second. 

She shrugged her shoulders casually. ''That's alright, you would be jealous anyway.''

''No, no, no, no.'' Clint speed-walked away from her, running from the conversation he no longer wanted to have.

''We're still sparring, right?'' She yelled after him as he disappeared in the distance. 

''After I pour bleach down my ears!'' His body rounded the corner, but his voice made it to Katya.

''Big baby!''

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little surprised chapter for you guys! I have been having a lot of free time this week, so I wrote a couple chapters in advance. I hope you like these kind of chapters, because I love writing them and reading them in other people's stories. 
> 
> Anyways, I will see you monday! (Little warning: that chapter will be veeeeerrryyy long)


	50. Sokovia

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy this really long chapter ;)

The jet rattled as it hit some turbulence, although Katya didn't really register it. Her music was blasting through her headphones, the beat filling up her ears, getting her blood pumping. 

It was something she liked to do before going on a mission. With music on her ears, she was able to close herself off from the world for a couple hours and focus on the task at hand. 

In her hands, she had her tablet with all the information they had about the base they were about to raid. Honestly, Katya had lost count of how many secret HYDRA bases they had conquered these last few months, but this one felt different. The readings from the building were promising. They were definitely hiding something big in there.

But with that came a lot of agents protecting the damn thing, which meant more fighting for her and the team, that was scattered all through the jet.

Clint was assembling his arrows, making sure they were battle ready, while being in conversation with Thor. What they were talking about, she couldn't hear, but it probably had something to do with the scepter. 

Natasha was flying, her birthday present sitting in the holster on her hip. She never left the tower without it anymore. 

Tony was talking to her from the co-pilot seat, but it looked like his rambling went in one ear and out the other. Their conversation was either about the mission too, or about Pepper, who had been a huge help to him. After the battle of New York, Tony had to deal with a lot of PTSD and while he had struggled with it badly, she had always been his rock. 

Steve sat across Katya, his shield at his feet. His eyes scanned over the pages of the book he was reading. Banner had kindly suggested a couple he should read to catch up to everything he had missed, the classics mostly, so he had an idea of what the others were talking about. 

Speaking of Banner, he had his own set of headphones on, although Katya was sure they didn't blast dance/rock music like hers did. He was reading as well, although his book looked a lot more advanced and science-y than Steve's did. 

Sokovia, that was where they were going. Katya couldn't say she had ever been to that base, but she had known of its existence. It had just never been used as a science base, so it hadn't popped into her mind when brainstorming about the possible locations of the scepter. 

She actually didn't know much about the base, only that it was hard to reach, with thick forest around it and a strategic placement on higher ground and that is what she was reading now on her tablet. It wouldn't be easy to infiltrate, but then again, they wouldn't be the Avengers if they couldn't do the impossible. 

Natasha yelled something through the jet from her seat in the front, but since Katya had her music at volume 'hearing damage', she didn't hear what it was. She looked at Steve for help, who signaled they were thirty minutes out. 

Stark had taken the liberty of designing new suits for everyone a while ago. He was always working on improvements, new fabrics or new features that would make the fighting easier. Everything he could to protect his friends.

He had asked Katya about a signature color for herself, but she just told him to pick it for her. Natasha had her red, Clint was font of the color purple, Steve blue, Bruce turned literally green, Tony's suit has been red since the beginning and Thor's cape was red too. Basically, everyone had a color, whereas Katya just really liked her blacks. 

But she actually trusted Tony to choose for her, since he had quite a fine taste in fashion when it came to suits and Katya really liked his taste in cars. So she told him to go wild. Not too wild, of course, the main color of her suit would still be black.

The result of it was that her and Natasha were now wearing the exact same outfit, but with different subtle lines of color. Where the seams of Natasha's combat suit were a light blue - according to Tony it was a nod to her electric Widow Bites - Katya sported a deep green color. Like the forest on a foggy winter's morning or the color of Natasha's eyes. 

For Katya, it was kind of suiting because the building she grew up in had been surrounded by forest and she found it had always calmed her to look out the dirty windows into the see of trees. It was lonely to be disconnected from the world, but she held comfort in the fact that the woods had to end somewhere, had to run into a city or village eventually. 

She was pulled out of her thoughts by a pair of legs stopping in front of her and she followed them up to see the face they belonged to, uncovering one ear to hear something. ''Five minutes till landing.''   
Steve always had a kind look in his eyes, although this might have to do with the fact that he had been calling her name for the last minute and she hadn't heard him.

''Copy that, Captain.''

''And turn down your music, I could hear it through Stark's rambling.'' Steve smiled as he waited for Tony to jump into the conversation. Whatever it was about, Stark could never refrain himself from protecting his own name. And the fact that he reacted so funny only made it more fun for the others. 

Katya smirked, seeing Tony's head snap to the two as he was putting his suit on. ''Why do you think it's so loud?''

''Hey, watch it Petrova.'' His metal finger pointed at her in warning, while the others around them were already smiling. ''Have you forgotten whose building you live in?''

''I will only ever leave that building if I get that Audi from your garage.'' She was staring into the distance like she was dreaming about the beautiful car, overacting the whole thing like a child thinking about a unicorn. 

His eyes turn big in fear. ''Not the R8?''

''Oh, yes the R8,'' she smiled deviously. ''The orange one with the ridiculous number plate.'' 'Stark 65', like anyone needed a reminder. 

''You will never get it,'' he also spoke like an angry child fearfully holding his piece of candy to his chest. ''But if you want a car, I will buy you one. Just not my R8.''

Katya shrugged unbothered. ''Alright, I saw a half-a-million dollar McLaren the other day that really spoke to me.''

Tony stopped fiddling with his suit and turned his eyes on her again, already fearing for the amount of money he had to spend on a car for her. ''Not the 600LT?''

''Oh yes, the orange one.''

Steve's head was swinging back and forth between Katya and Stark as they were talking about these cars he had never heard of with speeds he still couldn't imagine. Back in his time, cars were bulky and slow, not the race monsters they are nowadays. 

''Fine,'' Tony eventually sighed, afraid of losing his precious car, ''Consider it a Christmas gift.''

''It's April.''

''Every day is Christmas when you're Tony Stark.''

Steve leaned in between the two pilot seats with big eyes, unsure of what he had just witnessed. ''They're joking, right?'' He asked Natasha, who was smiling at the conversation happening behind her.

She shook her head slightly. ''Oh, no, those two don't joke about their cars.''

Steve's mouth fell open in disbelief. ''He is just going to buy her a 500,000 dollar car?''

''It's only 300 grand, she's exaggerating.''

''Only 300 grand,'' Steve whispered to himself, pulling his head back. ''Okay, listen up everyone,'' he spoke loud, the authority in his voice undeniable. ''The mission is simple: get in, find the scepter, get out. Stark your job is to get to the building and find us a way in. Thor, Banner, take care of the bunkers and canons.'' Thor nodded determined, his game face already on. 

''The rest of us, we take out the soldiers in the woods. We wanna try and be stealthy because we're outnumbered by a lot. Mind your surroundings and look out for each other.''

''And try not to freeze to death,'' Natasha added from the cockpit. Everyone turned to look at the forest they were rapidly approaching. Snow covered the tips of the coniferous trees and covered the forest   
ground for as far as they could see. 

It would be a tricky trip towards the building through the forest, but hopefully the fighting would warm them up. Besides, Tony had really thought of everything and had built in some sort of thermo layer in their suits. Katya didn't really mind the cold though. When you grow up in Russia in a building without central heating and train outside in the freezing cold, you learn to block it out.

''Why doesn't HYDRA have their secret bases in Hawaï or something?'' Clint whined.

Everyone ignored him and readied themselves for the landing. Steve stepped on his bike that he took with him to move through the terrain quickly. It was clear that Natasha, Clint and Katya would group together on this mission, and that was what Katya liked the best anyway.

She had her guns ready and lots of extra clips in her belt. Knives were hidden in her boots and a couple on her sleeves for easy access. For stealth, she would probably use those the most besides her fists of course. Guns were too loud, even with the silencers in this icy forest. A pin could be dropped in the snow and it would echo between the trees. That's how silent it was.

Natasha landed the jet on the edge of the forest as quietly as she could and everybody started spilling out, Banner turning into the Hulk within the first few feet of the jet and Thor took off running after him, going for the hidden bunkers in the white landscape.

Katya jogged after Clint, who had an arrow ready to fly in his bow and she heard the quiet footsteps of Natasha following her. Their black suits weren't exactly a good camouflage in the snow, so they stuck to the trees, constantly scanning their surroundings. 

In the first minute, they didn't see anyone, only heard Steve's motorcycle in the distance, Hulk roaring loudly and Tony flying above them. Katya had a tight grip on her knife, knowing they were going to run into a HYDRA soldier soon. 

Slaloming between the bare trees that provided no real cover because they were so thin, the silence was almost deafening around them. Like they had found themselves within a vacuum. Just as Clint stepped over a fallen log, Katya had that feeling somebody was watching them, the hairs on the back of her neck raising.

With one quick turn of her body, pulling her arm back to throw, she threw the knife up in the tree they had just passed. A rookie mistake: not checking up the trees.

With a loud yell, the HYDRA soldier fell down the trunk, her knife lodged in his thigh. 

Katya ran over, knocking him out with a quick punch before he could start yelling again and pulled her weapon from his leg, smearing the blood off on his uniform. 

It seemed the dam had broken after this one man, because a couple of soldiers surrounded them now, like they had waited for them to get to a certain point. 

Katya ran to the one closest to her, who was on the path they had already walked and slid on her side over the soft snow, kicking his legs away and smashing his head on the frozen ground when he was down. Before the second one could shoot at her, she had thrown her knife into his shoulder. Annoyingly, they were wearing protective armor around their chests, so she wasn't able to throw her knives into their hearts. 

Just as she was bending over him to send him to sleep, a thud behind her drew her attention away. She spun around, ready to fight whoever managed to sneak up on her while she was distracted, but found it wasn't necessary anymore. 

A black arrow stuck out of the base of the soldier's neck, successfully killing him at once. ''Thanks Clint!'' No use in being quiet anymore, they had already been spotted.

''Watch your six!'' He yelled back, already running forward now that the first wave of assailants were down. 

Katya ran after him, admiring his and Natasha's handy work as she passed the unconscious men. A wider road opened up in front of them. Looked like they had found the route the cars took towards the city. The soft hum of an engine alerted them there was a truck coming. It would be a good idea to steal it, prevent more soldiers from getting to the base and it would spare them some walking.

''I got it,'' Katya whispered to her friends as they waited in the bushes on the side of the road, ready to jump the vehicle.

As it came closer, she realized it would be quite easy. There were only two men in the back of the open roof truck and one driver. Clint was ready to object, but Katya had already jumped from the bushes, just as the car passed in front of her. Ending the agents in the back with two simple shots to their necks, she jumped into the passenger's seat, kicking the driver out the door with one powerful kick and taking the wheel before the truck crashed into one of the dozen trees around her. 

Slowing the car down to a stop, she waited patiently and with a triumphant smile for Clint and Natasha to get in. 

''That was really stupid, he could have crashed the car.'' Clint climbed in the back, standing at the ready with his bow.

As soon as he was ready and Natasha sat beside her, Katya had her foot back on the gas, speeding through the forest as fast as she dared without actually winding up wrapped around a tree. ''Then you would have had to scrape me off a frozen tree.''

''That might still happen anyway,'' Natasha said as Katya narrowly avoided one.

''Shut up and start shooting already.'' The soldiers had heard the commotion and were closing in on the truck. Where they were all suddenly coming from was a big question mark for Katya. It was like they appeared out of nowhere.

Katya focused on keeping the car in one piece, avoiding holes in the ground, and navigating to where she believed the building would be. Natasha was busy emptying her guns into the soldiers they passed, Clint doing the same with his arrows. Some of the HYDRA agents had been given an upgrade and were wearing the cheap, knock-off version of Tony's suits. It was more of an exoskeleton than a suit really. But the point was, they were able to fly. 

Which sucked for Katya because they were able to keep up with her speed and actually managed to hang onto her door. She kicked the door open and the soldier off of it in the same way she had the previous driver of this car. Rest his soul.

Tony flew over their heads, taking a couple flying soldiers with him as well, as Katya saw another truck coming up to them in her side mirror. This one had a big canon on it that would definitely blow their truck to pieces if it managed to hit it.

''Clint, behind!'' she yelled over her shoulder, knowing he had some badass explosive arrows that could probably take it out or at least slow it down.

But he didn't have to. Thor landed in the back of the hostile truck, swinging his hammer around and throwing the soldiers out. He did the same with the ones on the overlook in front of them.

Steve crossed Katya's path with his motorcycle, dragging a man behind him like it was no big deal. They had really made it to the center of the action, gunshots everywhere, explosions and yelling. The Hulk was there, ripping apart men like they were just plastic toys.

''Gotta jump, guys!'' Katya yelled over the chaos when she saw a couple anti-tank obstacles on the road, preventing them from continuing their way to the building in the car. Right before she hit it, she gave a tug on the wheel, tipping the truck over and throwing the people inside over the line of defense.

They continued fighting, Tony speeding away above their heads, flying towards the main building they suspected the scepter to be in. 

''Shit!'' He yelled through the comms just after a clank of metal bumping into something else. He probably had some trouble heading in.

''Language!'' Steve corrected him immediately. Katya raised a surprised and amused eyebrow, although the guy she was fighting was the only one to see it. ''JARVIS, what's the view from upstairs?''

''The central building is protected by some kind of energy shield.'' Tony's UI answered calmly, his English voice strangely soothing in this situation. ''Strucker's technology is well beyond any other HYDRA base we've taken.''

''Loki's scepter must be here. Strucker couldn't mount this defense without it. At long last.'' Thor, just like the others, was relieved they finally had the right base and were so close to finding the scepter. It was the good news they needed after months and months of finding dead ends. 

''At long last is lasting a little long, boys.'' Katya had lost Natasha in the chaos of the battlefield and hadn't realized how much that bothered her until the redheads calm voice filled her earpiece. She was out of breath, but so was everyone else. Katya's breath made clouds in the freezing air around her, but her body was hot from the fighting and shooting.

''Yeah. I think we lost the element of surprise,'' Clint agreed with Natasha. She also didn't see him anymore, but knew he was close by because several bodies around her had arrows sticking out of them.

''You think?'' Katya joined in, just as she was throwing a grenade in a pit with several soldiers. The blast never reached her because she was already a safe distance away when it blew. They kept coming and coming, the soldiers, like there was no end to them. Katya was beginning to grow tired at the running and fighting so decided to rely on her guns more. After all, stealth wasn't important anymore. 

''Wait a second. No one else is going to deal with the fact that Cap just said "language?"''

Katya chuckled to herself at Tony's dry voice. You could always count on the man to say something funny at exactly the wrong time.

''I know.'' The roaring of his motorcycle came to an abrupt end, followed by a loud crash and screaming soldiers. ''Just slipped out.''

Katya was running low on bullets. That was the consequence on using her guns so much. Coming past a couple of dead or unconscious soldiers, she stole one of their guns and their extra clips. The area around her was clear, no new hostiles in sight. It might mean that she wandered off too far from the center of the battle, so she concentrated on the place where the most gunshots were audible and hurried her way over there.

She was just zigzagging between the trees, gun raised and ready to shoot, when a sudden, powerful force hit her, throwing her into a tree. ''Motherf-''. Her first instinct was she had been hit by one of the cannons, but there wasn't a sound prior to impact and there was a blur, running away from her. 

She had heard of HYDRA experimenting on humans. Hell, it was quite common actually. But she had never had the pleasure of meeting one and knew the testing was brutal and fatal for much of the patience. They had never actually succeeded before, but the vague image of a person speeding away from her told her they had finally found the right mix of ingredients.

''Katya, you alright?'' Natasha's worried voice filled her ear, hearing her swear after hitting the tree.

Katya got back to her feet, brushing the snow and mud off her body. ''We have an enhanced in the field, speedy bastard.'' This just made their job a whole lot more difficult. Without any way to see him or her coming, how were they supposed to fight them?

She continued her way towards the others, but this time prepared for anything that might hit her, including a speedster she couldn't see. Between the white, black and dark green of the forest, Natasha's bright red hair was easy to spot. It wasn't exactly undercover or stealthy, but she refused to dye it just because of that. 

Katya was still a good distance away when Clint suddenly underwent the same fate she did. The archer was flipped on his back by a force he didn't see coming, but instead of seeing a blur run away, a teenage boy stood next to him. He had silver-ish hair and a slim posture, that was all Katya could see from a distance. 

He spoke to Clint before running off, which confused her. It was so easy for him to kill Clint, snap his neck before he saw him move, but he wasn't a killer. Whoever this boy was, he didn't grow up with HYDRA, his mind wasn't poisoned like hers once was.

Clint stood and raised his bow, but there was no way he could hit the boy. Instead, he wasn't paying attention and got hit himself, a laser landing on his left side.

''Clint!'' Katya was close enough to Natasha to hear her call out his name in worry and picked up her pace to catch up with her, kind of losing her focus on her surroundings as she did so. 

''Clint's hit!'' Natasha found her way to him, keeping low to avoid the bullets and lasers from the bunker, but they were really annoying her and keeping her from treating his wound. ''Somebody want to deal with that bunker?'' 

The Hulk was happy to do that for her, roaring and smashing his way through the concrete. ''Thank you,'' Natasha answered sweetly. Clint was groaning and clearly in pain while Natasha worked to cover his wound and give him a shot to keep it from getting infected.

''You need help?'' Katya innocently asked as she dropped down beside Natasha without any kind of warning, which made the spy jump and scowl lightly.

Clint's painkiller was working quickly, because he had enough strength to lift his head and look at the person who joined their party of two. ''Yeey, Katya is here, now we are saved,'' he said sarcastically before dropping his head back on the ground and groaning. The other three men were chattering away in their ears, but nobody was really listening to what they were saying, especially not Clint.

She rolled her eyes, looking at Natasha. ''He is clearly fine if he can talk like that.''

''I am not fine, don't you see me dying?''

''So dramatic.'' Katya kept the conversation light, but she was no idiot. Clint was in a lot of pain and his wound was quite bad. There was no way he could continue like this.

''He's a blur. All the new player's we've faced, I've never seen this. In fact, I still haven't.'' Steve was talking about the enhanced boy. But unlike him, she actually saw him and could provide him with a description.

''I have,'' she spoke over the comms, interrupting Steve and Thor's conversation. ''Teenage boy, silver hair, slim but strong posture, weirdly friendly.'' Something about him told her he wasn't completely lost and there was still a chance at turning him. It probably wouldn't take much, either.

''Clint's hit pretty bad, guys. We're gonna need evac.'' The worry on Natasha's face was clearly readable, even for someone who didn't know her very well. The one thing she could never hide was how deeply she cared about her friends.

''I can get Barton to the jet,'' Thor offered. ''The sooner we're gone the better. You and Stark secure the scepter.''

''Copy that,'' Steve answered.

Thor was with them within a heartbeat, carefully lifting Clint and flying back to the Quinjet. There was really no other way to get him there, since they were a good distance away from the plane and travelling over land would mean having to fight some soldiers. 

As soon as Thor was out of sight, Natasha turned to Katya, looking at a spot on her forehead, reaching out and carefully touching her skin. ''Are you okay?''

Katya frowned, having no idea what she was talking about until she reached up and felt the spot Natasha was touching. As soon as she did, a stinging pain rang through her head and when she retracted her hand, there was some blood on her fingertips. Looked like she scratched her head when she was thrown into the tree. 

''Huh, I didn't even feel it.''

Stark was mumbling to himself through the comms, which both women shut out because he did that more often and was just a bunch of nonsense. The forest around them was quiet, every soldier taken down and no new ones coming. Stark's Iron Legion bots were rounding up the soldiers that were still standing, which made both Natasha and Katya quite useless there. 

Natasha noticed as well and announced their situation to the others, wanting new instructions from the Captain. ''We're locked down out here.''

Steve answered quickly, saying exactly what Katya dreaded would come.''Then get to Banner, time for a lullaby.''

Natasha shared a look with Katya that could only be described as fear. Both spies weren't afraid of much, but the Hulk was the one thing they were both deeply afraid off. However, Natasha had managed to gain some trust from the monster and had developed a certain ritual that calmed him down enough that Banner came back.

It was still tricky though, seeing as the Hulk could smash through a concrete bunker like it was a hot knife cutting through butter. And Katya all but liked seeing her girlfriend so close to the big beast.

They found him not far from where they were standing. He was ripping apart some big metal plates and roaring loudly, clearly completely lost into the 'destroy'-mindset. 

''Hey, big guy.'' He turned around towards her voice like he had been stung by a bee, staring at her in anger. All Katya could do was keep her hand on her gun and stay close, even though running was more tempting. ''The sun's getting real low.'' He roared again in anger, but stayed in his spot. But as soon as Natasha knelt down to pose less of a threat, his expression changed. 

He was interested, but also confused, shaking his head as he was trying to fight Banner. Natasha raised her hand, inviting him to do the same. They found that touch ultimately worked the best at getting Banner back. And it didn't fail them this time. She dragged her hand over his wrist and palm and Katya could see Banner gaining control, staring at her until he finally turned around and stumbled away, transforming back into himself.

Natasha threw him his clothes, giving him privacy by walking away towards a waiting Katya, who relaxed now that Banner was back and didn't pose a threat anymore. ''It works better every time,'' Natasha said with relief.

''It better, I don't trust the Hulk for one second.'' Katya looked around, trying to hide the worry she felt.

Natasha tilted her head to the side, eyes scanning over Katya's face and smiling at what she found. ''You are still worried for me.''

Katya snapped her head back to the woman standing in front of her. ''Of course I worry,'' she exclaimed like it was the most obvious thing in the world. ''He can break your spine with his pinky.''

Natasha's smile widened and she pulled Katya towards her, grabbing her hips gently. ''I love it when you're protective.''

Like always, Katya was completely lost and crumbled under her girlfriends touch. She really was her weakness, no denying that. ''Someone has to look out for you.''

''Hmm.'' Natasha's soft hum travelled through Katya's entire body as she brought her face closer, eyes trailing down from her blue eyes to her lips. ''Don't act like you hate that job, you like it,'' she whispered to her lips.

Katya had trouble forming sentences, completely captivated and caught off guard. ''I do,'' she breathed, wanting nothing more than to close the gap between their lips. Even after all these years, Natasha was a drug that did it every time for her. A high she would never resist. Couldn't resist.

Unfortunately, an awkward cough prevented her from getting that right now. Katya immediately averted her face, embarrassed Banner saw all that and probably heard all that too, but Natasha had trouble keeping her laugh in and didn't let go or step back at all. She just raised a questioning eyebrow towards the man, like she was asking where he got the nerve to interrupt them.

''I'm, uh - I'm ready,'' the poor man stuttered, looking everywhere with his eyes but at Natasha. 

''Let's go then.'' Her voice was completely normal and sounded quite bored, like she wasn't about to make out with her girlfriend before he caught them. She let Katya go and started leading the party of three back to the Quinjet. Banner followed after blinking a couple times and Katya closed the line, shaking her head to try and clear it and calm her breathing down.

Their footsteps were quiet, except for Banner, who had never learned to walk with stealth, but it didn't matter anymore, there were no hostiles anymore. Nobody talked, mostly because of the awkward tension Natasha apparently didn't bother. 

''Guys, I got Strucker,'' Steve announced over the comms after a good couple of minutes of silence. At least they had one of the things they came for. Now if only they found the scepter too.

''Yeah, I got...something bigger,'' Tony vaguely said. Katya had no idea what he was talking about, but he sounded distracted. And for Tony to sound like that, he would have to either be really impressed or scared, but his follow-up message put her to rest a little bit and lifted a weight off her shoulders she didn't know was there.

''Thor, I got eyes on the prize.''


	51. Party Invites

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Little extra chapter for you guys :)

That everyone made it back on the Quinjet in one piece wasn't new. What was new was the extra piece of cargo they were taking back with them, priceless and more powerful then all of them combined.

Katya wasn't going to lie and say she wasn't the tiniest bit wary of the scepter. Everything she couldn't explain and was closer to magic than reality, she didn't like. Facts, that was what she liked, things she could explain. And even though Steve, the Hulk and Thor were weird too, she could explain them. 

Steve got strong because of science. Hulk the same thing. Thor was tricky. She could explain his existence, but until she saw Asgard with her own eyes, there was no way to prove his story, she would just have to trust his word. 

This time, the Quinjet was filled with euphoria and relief, a completely different vibe than before. This time, Katya wasn't listening to music. She was cleaning her knives and guns, checking if they were still good and replacing any parts that might need it. She checked up on Clint, who lay in the middle of the Quinjet on a gurney. They had pumped in some more drugs and he seemed comfortable for the time being. 

Katya was tired, but the adrenaline from finally getting the scepter kept her from sleeping. So instead she emptied her mind by keeping her hands busy, doing the movements she had done countless times and could do with her eyes closed. 

Tony was flying the plane, something he could do with the help of JARVIS. Natasha was keeping herself busy in the cockpit too, swiping through files and entering new information while talking to Maria quietly, discussing things and updating her. Steve was checking on Clint and Thor stared at the scepter, which was in the back of the jet, as far away from Katya as possible. 

Across from where she was sitting, Banner had his headphones back on. Steve had been right, you could hear the music through the whole jet, that's how loud it was. But she didn't mind the opera music, it was a nice change to the music she always listened to.

Katya looked up from her knives when Natasha moved in the corner of her eye. It was a subconscious reaction, but her blue eyes kept following her as she walked to Banner and crouched down in front of him, interrupting him from his small meditation session, trying to completely calm down. Katya couldn't imagine how much of a beating on his body it was every time he transformed back from the Hulk. 

''Hey, the lullaby worked better than ever,'' she said to him kindly. Katya continued with her work, but couldn't resist but listen in. 

''Just wasn't expecting the Code Green.'' It was painfully clear that Bruce didn't like the damage the Hulk did and wished he didn't have to go out there today. Maybe the Hulk's biggest hater was the man who literally turned into him and Katya admired him for trying his best to live with him. She didn't know if she were that strong.

''If you hadn't been there, there would've been double the casualties. My best friend would've been a treasured memory and I may have had to scrape my girlfriend from a tree.'' They both turned their heads towards Katya, who had to suppress a smile but was clearly listening in.

Bruce laughed at her attempt to cheer him up, but it wasn't really helping. ''You know, sometimes exactly what I want to hear isn't exactly what I want to hear.''

''How long before you trust me?'' she asked him quietly.

''It's not you I don't trust.'' That made at least two of them.

Natasha raised her voice, no more speaking to Banner alone. ''Thor, report on the Hulk?''

Katya looked up from her hands, wanting to see the way this would play out. Thor could miss the point sometimes and because he had no idea what they were previously talking about, this could go horribly wrong.

Thor raised his fist. ''The gates of Hell are filled with the screams of his victims.''

Natasha whipped her head around, glaring at Thor in both anger and shock. Banner just groans in despair, as it only made the situation worse. Katya didn't know what to do. Part of her wanted to laugh at Thor's face and his innocence, but a bigger part of her felt bad for Banner so she kept silent.

''Uh, but, not the screams of the dead, of course. No no, uh...wounded screams, mainly whimpering, a great deal of complaining and tales of sprained deltoids and, and uh... and gout.'' Thor stuttered and fell over his words trying to make his words right, but the damage had already been done.

Tony was the one who saved the situation. ''Hey Banner, Dr. Cho's on her way in from Seoul, is it okay if she sets up in your lab?''

From what Katya had gathered, Doctor Cho had some sort of machine that could fix Clint's injury in no-time. What is was, she had no idea, science and everything that went with it wasn't really her thing.

''Uh, yeah, she knows her way around.'' Bruce looked relieved at the change of topic.

''Thanks.'' Tony turned back to the screens in front of him and muttered something to them, probably giving JARVIS instructions on what to tell the doctor. 

Katya went back to cleaning her knives now that the conversation was over. She couldn't wait to get home, shower and get a good sleep. Although she was also interested in this machine Cho would bring and how much of a miracle it could work. So the sleeping part would probably have to wait for a while.

''It feels good, yeah?'' Tony had given the flight controls to JARVIS and moved to stand with Steve and Thor around the scepter. She could tell in the way he looked at it that he was wary of it too. Something about the alien thing bothered him as much as it did her. ''I mean, you've been after this thing since SHIELD collapsed. Not that I haven't enjoyed our little raiding parties, but...''

''No, but this,'' Thor nodded to the shiny blue stick ''this brings it to a close.''

''As soon as we find out what else this has been used for. I don't just mean weapons. Since when is Strucker capable of human enhancement?'' Steve felt uneasy with these new players in the game, but his worry for those kids overshadowed it. He didn't like not knowing what he faced and wanted to rule out the possibility of there being more enhanced.

''Not long.'' All three men turned to look at Katya, who had put her stuff down and walked towards them, wanting to say what she knew about it. ''At least not on this level.''

Steve looked confused. ''What do you mean?''

''They have long tried to give humans Inhuman powers, powers like the one that kid had, but only ever succeeded in strengthening what was already there.'' She looked at Steve. ''Super strength, mostly. That was how far they were when I left. But the experiments, they're dangerous, almost no one survived them. The scepter must have given them the power and information they needed to finally have a successful subject.''

''Inhuman?'' Thor questioned, never having heard of the species.

''Inhumans have alien DNA that lies dormant until it gets activated by a certain crystal, causing them to go through Terrigenesis and receive certain powers. That can be anything from telekinesis to mind reading to controlling certain elements,'' Katya explained, thinking back to what an Inhuman man had once told her when she was collecting information about them.

''How do you know all that?'' Steve was completely surprised by this type of human he didn't know about and was surprised she knew so much.

Katya shrugged, trying to play it off. ''They have existed for thousands of years, so there are quite a lot of them, if you know where to look.''

''But those kids are not one of them?''

She thought about it for a moment. Their powers were similar to Inhuman ones, but it was unlikely HYDRA knew of Inhumans and how to turn them. ''They could be, but I think their powers came from the scepter, which means they can't be called that.''

''Banner and I'll give it the once over before it goes back to Asgard. Is that cool with you?'' Stark asked Thor, now way more interested in the powers of the scepter than before.

The god nodded his head, seeing no harm in letting Tony and Banner play with it for a couple days. 

''I mean, just a few days until the farewell party. You're staying, right?'' 

Katya rolled her eyes. Of course Tony would want to celebrate this. He was never one to pass up a good opportunity for a party. And even though she acted like it annoyed her, she was actually looking forward to it. There weren't enough relaxed moments with the team. It was all work and no play, which she preferred most of the time, but it had been ages since she had been to a good party.

She wasn't the only one who loved some alcohol and music, Thor nodded enthusiastically too. ''Yes, yes, of course. A victory should be honored with revels.''

''Yeah. Who doesn't love revels,'' Tony agreed. ''Captain?''

Katya was interested to see what his answer would be. Steve was the definition of seriousness, but part of her believed he loved a good party too, although they were very different from the ones he was used to. ''Hopefully this puts an end to the Chitauri and HYDRA, so. Yes, revels.''

Stark turned to Katya, who was smiling at the anticipation. ''Petrova?''

''Absolutely. Alcohol and an excuse to dress up? I'm in.''

Tony nodded, satisfied with the answers he got, probably already planning big things in his head. 

Those long flights back from far locations was the worst part of every mission. Just the fact that you just wanted to shower and sleep but were trapped into a metal can with six other people was annoying. That was the right word for it: annoying. After a couple hours of reading through files, listening to music and cleaning her equipment, Katya was bored and ready to get out of the jet.

When the plane finally lowered down and New York came into view through the windshield, she could cry of happiness. She loved this city and she loved the tower that had become her home. The big 'A' shone brightly and could be seen from the other side of the city at night. That was her favorite time of the day, when the world was bathed in darkness and all the lights turned on. From the top of Avengers Tower, New York City looked like a starry night.

The back door opened and immediately, a couple women rushed in, taking the gurney Clint lay on and rolling it into the tower, a woman Katya believed to be Doctor Cho on their heels. Natasha followed them like the overprotective and worried friend she was, Katya hurrying out after her, not wanting to miss anything that would happen.

맥박이 약하고 산소가 부족하며 호흡이 안정됩니다. (Pulse is weak, oxygen low, breathing is stabilizing) The doctors were chattering over each other. 

상처는 어떻게 생겼습니까? (What does the wound look like?) Doctor Cho asked the women helping her. But before they could uncover his wound, Katya spoke up.

심한 화상. 그는 홀로 움직이는 레이저 캐논에 맞았습니다. (Heavy burn. He was hit by a laser cannon powered by the scepter.)

If they weren't in such a rush, everyone probably would have stopped and stared at her in utmost surprise. But their big eyes and faltering of their movements was enough for her to feel proud at catching them off-guard. Even Natasha didn't know she could speak Korean, which made the whole situation really funny.

Doctor Cho had shook off the surprise and focused back on Clint, giving new orders to her assistants. 완전한 치료를 위해 기계를 준비하고 진통제를 좀 더 줘. (Prepare the machine for full treatment and give him some more painkillers.)

The women hurried off, almost running through the halls of the tower. Cho turned to Katya, the surprise back on her face, mixed with some admiration. ''I did not know you spoke Korean.''

Natasha raised a questioning eyebrow, almost pissed she didn't know. ''Neither did I.''

Katya shrugged it off, simply smiling slightly. ''It's one of my many talents.''

''It's quite good,'' Cho complimented her. Katya decided she liked her. She looked kind, soft, selfless to the bone. Her hair was tied back in a bun and her white outfit was crispy. To this woman, she entrusted Clint's life. 

''Thank you. Once I learn, I never forget the language.''

They made it to the lab, where Clint was already lying in the machine. It all looked very advanced and complicated, so Katya made sure not to touch anything. She didn't want to be the reason it broke down and couldn't fix Clint.

So she stood back, carefully observing everything the doctors did and keeping a close eye on Clint's vitals. It looked like they had the situation under control, but you could never be too careful. 

Stark and Banner passed each other on the stairs outside the glass room Katya was in. It was impossible to hear what they were saying, but it was clear Tony was eager to get to work on the scepter. In fact, she could see straight into his lab from her position and concluded she had read his body language right. 

The scepter was placed into some sort of holder, making it easier for JARVIS to read the thing. Tony was talking to the UI, wandering around the lab as he did so. It was always fascinating to see him work, because he was easiest to read when he was working, which gave her a genuine update on how he was really doing. 

Banner walked into the room, pulling Katya's eyes away from Tony. He probably had the best idea of what Doctor Cho was doing. As far as she could see, the wound on Clint's side was slowly healing.

Natasha was pacing back and forth, probably annoying Cho with that, but she didn't say anything. Upon taking a closer look at the slowly closing wound, Natasha couldn't hold her worry in anymore. ''You sure he's going to be okay? Pretending to need this guy really brings the team together.'' She smirked at Clint at the end, but she really was anxious.

''There's no possibility of deterioration. The nano-molecular functionality is instantaneous,'' she tapped some buttons on the machine. ''His cells don't know they're bonding with simulacrum.''

Katya was already frowning at the first sentence. She was way too tired to think. ''Excuse me, what?'' Natasha threw her an amused look, although she probably didn't understand anything off that either. 

Bruce smiled kindly, although he must probably be disappointed by her stupidity. ''She's creating tissue.''

''Ah, thanks.'' He had dumbed it down enough that she understood what was happening, confirming what she had suspected earlier. 

''If you brought him to my lab, the regeneration Cradle could do this in twenty minutes.'' Cho was clearly amazed by the technology, her eyes shining just talking about it. 

Tony interrupted the conversation, barging in with those disgusting smoothies of his he insisted they drink after every mission. To be honest, they weren't that bad, they just looked disgusting and had a weird texture but they did bring back some of her energy. ''Oh, he's flatlining. Call it. Time?''

Katya chuckled, accepting a green smoothie from the tray Tony was offering her. 

''No, no, no. I'm going to live forever. I'm gonna be made of plastic,'' Clint joked back. He wasn't in pain anymore, or he wouldn't be able to joke like this.

''Oh, no we don't want that. Can you still shut it down?'' Katya asked Cho, trying to keep a straight face but failing when Clint sent her a glare. 

Tony gave him his own drink, which he drank very awkwardly, lying on his side in an uncomfortable position. ''Here's your beverage.''

''You'll be made of you, Mr. Barton. Your own girlfriend won't be able to tell the difference.'' Katya hid her smile by sipping on her drink. Nobody but Natasha and her knew about Clint's secret farm with wife and kids. Natasha looked at her with a knowing look, something that was missed by everyone else in the room.

''Well, I don't have a girlfriend.'' Clint lied straight to their faces. Technically, that was true, Laura was his wife, not his girlfriend.

''That I can't fix.'' Cho faked disappointment, having no idea she had just been lied to. ''This is the next thing, Tony. Your clunky metal suits are going to be left in the dust.''

''Well, that is exactly the plan.'' Something about the way he said it made Katya frown. There was an undertone to it, like his words held double meaning. But Tony wiped it off his face before she could really understand what he meant with it. ''And Helen, I expect to see you at the party on Saturday.''

Natasha stole the drink from Katya's hand and the blonde was about to say something, but Natasha gave her a wink and a flirtatious smile over the edge of the cup that left the words hanging in her throat. The woman left without saying anything else, leaving Katya to deal with the rest of the conversation.

''Unlike you, I don't have a lot of time for parties,'' she answered, causing Tony to raise his eyebrows in offense or surprise. But then Helen seemed to remember something. ''Will Thor be there?''

Katya stifled her laugh, leaving to let the three guys deal with that question and walked through the halls, trying to find her girlfriend. It wasn't hard to guess where she had gone, but Katya still smiled when she walked into their bedroom and heard the shower running. 

Looked like it would be a party of two.


	52. Alcohol And An Excuse To Dress Up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did I upload this chapter on time on Wattpad? Yes.  
> Did I completely forget to upload it here? Also yes.  
> I'm sorry it is a day late but here you go haha.

The elevator came to a still and the sounds of the party filled the small space the second the doors slid open. Katya's high heels clicked on the floor when she walked out, her hair pulled into a tight bun at the back of her neck. Her hair was just long enough to successfully do that without strands sticking out everywhere. 

The bright color of her dress pulled some of the guests' attention towards her as she walked by. Her entrance was far from dramatic, but she could see some of Tony's party guests look at her and gossip, but it didn't bother her. She was way too focused on finding the person she wore this dress for. 

Katya had pushed her out of their bedroom before she got dressed, wanting to keep it a secret what she would turn up in. The dress was one of her fancy ones, only used on high-class missions and fancy parties like these, and Katya had completely forgotten she had it until it showed up on the hanger. 

''Katya!'' A voice she hadn't heard in real life for more than a year, called her over somewhere to her left. A waving hand told her where she had to be and with short, quick strides, she walked over to Sam, who had a drink in his other hand.

She smiled widely, something that was hard to resist as he was doing the same thing. ''Sam, it is so good to see you again.'' The music was loud enough to hear over the chatter, but not too loud that people had to yell to understand each other. 

He looked her up and down, but not in a creepy way. ''Damn girl, you look like a million bucks.'' 

''Thanks Sam, you clean up nice yourself.'' It was true, he looked good for someone who had been away from home for a year, tracing down someone who didn't want to be found. ''How are you?''

He was chatting with some people she didn't know, but he didn't introduce them and they didn't introduce themselves, so she just ignored them and the looks they were giving her completely. 

''I'm good, I'm good. Tired but good.'' He did look tired, although he hid it well. ''And you? I heard you found the scepter.''

''Yeah we did, finally,'' she answered honestly. ''I'm just glad to close that chapter and move onto the next.'' Whatever that may be.

''Let's hope it involves less alien stuff and magic,'' Sam laughed. Then he noticed she didn't have anything to drink yet and was eager to go mingle with the rest of the guests. ''Hey, go get yourself a drink, we can talk later.''

Katya smiled kindly at his thoughtfulness and peered around the room, looking for that bright spot of red. ''Actually, have you seen Nat?''

Sam smiled knowingly, trying to hide it behind his glass. ''I believe I saw her talking to Rhodey in the seating area.''

''Thanks Sam, try not to drink too much.'' Even though she was planning on doing that herself. 

''No promises.'' His eyes followed her figure weaving through the crowd, towards the comfortable and expensive couches in the middle of the room. They were positioned a little below the floor level, so Katya saw Natasha before the other woman saw her. She was indeed wrapped up in a conversation with Rhodey, both of them laughing and clearly having fun.

''Rhodey, it is so nice to see you again.'' Katya interrupted their conversation innocently, before either of them had noticed her. 

The man turned around and Natasha choked on her drink behind him when her eyes found Katya. The blonde did as if she didn't see it and concentrated completely on Tony's longtime friend, who had stood up to greet her properly.

''Katya,'' he shook her hand firmly, a bright smile on his face. Rhodey had been around the tower a couple of times in the last year, but they had never had more than just a light conversation. She liked him, but that was as far as their relationship went. ''You look beautiful tonight.''

''You're not the first one to say that to me,'' she laughed. She seemed to do have done that more tonight than any other day already. But who cared, she liked parties and could finally relax for the first time in a while.

''And I bet I won't be the last.'' He winked, before seeing something behind her, probably someone gesturing him over or someone he really wanted to talk to. ''If you will excuse me. Enjoy the party.''

She watched him go, feeling Natasha's eyes burn through her. 

''You know that's my color, right?'' Natasha said accusingly when Katya moved to sit in Rhodey's spot on the couch, the corner of it facing the corner of the other couch Natasha sat on.

''Of course I do, why do you think I'm wearing it.''

Her green eyes trailed over Katya's body in a complete different way Sam's had done earlier. There was no subtlety in the way she did so. ''You look so sexy, why are you teasing me like this?''

''Because I like seeing you squirm for once, usually that's me.''

''Squirming?'' Her small hand travelled up Katya's thigh, following the slit in her dress. ''Like this?''

Katya's eyes shot around, afraid people would see what was happening. ''Nat, stop, people are watching.''

But she didn't stop, instead she bowed towards Katya and whispered in her ear. ''I don't care.''

''I do, stop it.'' Her voice was nothing more than a breath and sounded way weaker than she wished it had.

The hand on her leg stopped moving, but it lingered there a moment longer before it was removed altogether. ''Fine, but that dress will come off tonight.'' Natasha's breath blew over her ear, sending more shivers down her spine.

''Clint.'' Katya hadn't seen her friend coming up from her right, but apperantly, Natasha could flirt and pay attention to her surroundings at the same time.

''Sorry for interrupting...'' His eyes shot between them, trying to gauge the situation, but upon further investigation decided against that, ''whatever this is, but the bar needs a bartender and you make the best cocktails of everyone in this room.''

Natasha turned to him with a questioning eyebrow raised. ''What happened to the other one?''

''He didn't know the difference between a dry martini and reverse martini and found that out the hard way.''

''Tony yelled at him?''

''Tony yelled at him.''

Natasha rolled her eyes. ''Fine, I'll do it.'' Clint nodded in satisfaction and walked off. He probably couldn't wait to get drunk. ''What are you in the mood for?''

'You' was probably not an acceptable answer. ''Something really strong.'' Getting drunk was still a priority tonight. Not too much, but just enough that the room started spinning a little.

Natasha seemed to grasp what she meant. ''Shots?''

''Vodka.''

''Come with me.'' She grabbed Katya's hand, pulling her through the partying guests towards the bar. 

Eyes were on them as they passed, but Katya kept her chin up and her eyes on the red hair in front of her. Natasha may think Katya looked good, but she looked amazing herself in a wider A-line black skirt and a white blouse with enough showing that Katya had to catch herself for not staring at her chest too much.

She pushed Katya onto one of the bar stools and moved around, clearly into her element between all the alcohol. Six shot glasses were placed on the bar in a neat row, three for Katya, three for Natasha.

Katya picked up one of the small glasses and raised it in the air. ''Cheers.''

They downed the liquid at the same time, welcoming the burn in their throats. ''Have you talked to Sam yet?'' Natasha asked, her eyes focused on a higher point in the room.

''Just for a moment, why?'' Katya turned on her chair, following the direction Natasha was looking. Sam was talking to Steve on the balcony, holding a drink in his hand and talking relaxed. Steve had put a nice shirt on for the party, which was (not surprisingly) blue.

''How's his search going?'' She drank another shot but kept her eyes on the two men, trying to read their body language.

Katya turned back to the bar, her fingers circling the edge of her empty glass. ''Not good, but what did you expect. He doesn't want to be found, you don't find him.''

Natasha kept staring, before shaking her head and reaching for her last glass. ''I kinda feel sorry for him. He got roped into this and doesn't even know the guy.''

''Hmm,'' Katya agreed. ''I have a feeling he would do anything Steve tells him too, though.'' That was true, Sam followed Steve around like a little puppy. It was quite funny to see how much of a fan Sam was of him.

An mischievous look filled Natasha's eyes. ''We should test that sometime.''

Katya felt her face pull into a similar look. ''What are you thinking?''

''Something he won't like.''

''Hey guys.'' Bruce timidly greeted them, his whole posture radiating the same thing. 

Natasha smiled kindly, trying to put him at ease. He must be very intimidated by two women who could kill you a dozen ways with simply the glasses they were holding. ''Hey Bruce, what can I get you?''

''What do you have?'' He was not a big drinker or didn't know much about alcohol.

''Just sit down, I'll make you something.'' She started moving around, grabbing different bottles and placing a martini glass down in front of him. 

''Katya,'' he greeted her kindly, sitting down next to her.

''Bruce,'' she nodded her head. ''You having fun?'' She still had one shot left and was swirling the liquid around carefully.

''I'm afraid this is not really my scene, but I don't think I have to tell you that.''

Natasha poured red liquor into Banner's glass and even placed a cherry in it, doing the exact same with another glass for herself. ''If you drink enough of these, I promise you'll have fun.''

He eyed the drink warily, not sure about the color or not completely trusting Natasha and what she put in it. He picked it up, looking between the two women around him. ''What is it?''

''I tend not to ask.'' Katya drank her shot at once, which he watched anxiously. Before she could even ask, there was already a new drink waiting for her, curtesy of one redhead.

''You have room for one more?'' Steve joined them, looking for a drink himself. 

''There's always room for you, Rogers.'' Natasha placed a simple bottle of beer on the bar, knowing Steve wasn't really a heavy drinker and liked his beer the best. ''Gentlemen, Kat.'' The latter received a wink with it.

Katya followed her girlfriend with her eyes, watching her climb the stairs next to the bar.

''It's nice.''

Steve cut off her staring. ''Hmm?'' Katya questioned.

''You and Romanoff.'' He got a look that said: explain further. ''It's just, she's not the most... open person in the world. But with you she seems very relaxed.''

She was thinking about making a sarcastic remark, but he was genuinely happy for her and he meant well. ''Thanks Steve.'' She made a gesture with her hand. ''How about you, anyone here captured your interest?''

Steve chuckled, suddenly very interested in the bottle in his hand. ''I'm afraid I don't have time for that.''

Katya nodded, having suspected such an answer, and turned to the man next to her. ''How about you Banner?''

He looked at his own glass awkwardly, very uncomfortable with the question. ''Dating is not really for me.''

''Come on guys.'' Katya nudged them. ''The only two women on your team are in a relationship with each other and even Tony Stark, playboy and narcissist, has a semi-stable relationship.'' Steve thought about that, frowning when he realized that was true. ''But hey, if you are not ready for that right now, I respect that.'' She did respect it. She always respected people who knew what they wanted and stayed with their beliefs, even if society told them it wasn't good enough.

Both men smiled strained, wishing she would shut up already. ''Oh hey I actually wanted to ask if you wanted to join Sam and I for a game? He said, and I quote: ''Katya owes me a conversation''.''

She laughed and picked up her glass, sliding off the stool and joining Steve. ''Oh I'm in. Prepare for defeat.''

''Bruce?''

He waved them off. ''I'm going to have to pass. I can't hit a ball for the life of me.''

~~~~~~

Katya ended up beating the boys, although it was a close call with Sam, who clearly had an eye for the game. He wasn't too bitter about it, though, which was nice for a change.

Sam had to leave though, which was a bummer because the team was gathered on the same couches Katya had talked to Natasha before after everyone else had left. The time was closer to the morning than midnight, but nobody seemed to care about sleep just yet.

Thor and Steve were joking together, the latter still holding a bottle of beer and Thor having his own Asgardian liquor that Katya in no way wanted to try. Like Clint, who was sitting on the ground, spinning around two drumsticks had found somewhere, Katya was quite tipsy. Her shoes lay somewhere next to the couch she was on, kicked off of her sore feet.

They were now resting on Natasha's lap who sat on the same couch and had clearly had enough alcohol herself. About an hour ago though, she had switched to beer as well, laying off on the vodka. She was laughing with Bruce about something and Katya was entertained enough by just watching her be happy. 

Maria was still there, as well as Doctor Cho, who had fallen asleep on a chair and looked rather comfortable. Overall, the vibe was very pleasant and nice, relaxed. 

''Katya.'' Clint suddenly said loud enough that it pulled everyone's attention towards him.

''Yes, Clint?'' Katya asked innocently. This was going to be a weird conversation.

''Isn't that the same dress from that London mission?'' Damn, he was right, it was.

All eyes were suddenly on her, waiting for some sort of explanation. 

''Story time!'' Tony yelled, almost jumping up and down in his seat. 

Katya looked at Natasha, unsure if she could tell them that. But the redhead was looking at her with just as much anticipation.

''Alright, fine, let me think.'' She pulled her legs from Natasha's lap to sit up straight, trying to remember that mission. ''It was one of the first solo missions I did for SHIELD, so this must have been somewhere around 2010 or '11?''

''2011, May I believe,'' Natasha corrected her.

Katya looked at her weirdly, surprised she remembered that. ''Thanks babe.''

''Anyways, it was a tricky one because it was a high-security, high-risk situation. Objective was to take out a scientist at this lavish, high-class science convention in London. Old, white dude, who was selling his dangerous inventions, mostly weapons of mass-destruction, to terrorist organisations and was involved in some shady business. The thing was, it was imperative it didn't look like an assassination.''

Everyone was pulled into her story, even Tony was silent for the first time in a while.

''Lucky for me, he had a younger wife. I don't want to say she was a golddigger, but let's face it, she was. She was far from innocent herself, tied up in the same business he was and she was known for being the jealous type. Her husband had been caught with several misteresses and so she was hanging onto her last thread of patience.''

Katya smiled, thinking back to that day. ''So I snuck into the building, which was surprisingly easy despite the high security, and targeted her because she was way easier to access. The guy had too much security and if I played it right, his wife would do the job for me.''

''So I... seduced her, which was quite easy because she was really desperate for attention, and planted the idea in her head. Next day, he was dead and she was locked away for murder. Two birds, one stone,'' she concluded her story. Natasha was smiling proudly next to her, the memory of that mission coming back to her too.

Everyone was silent as Katya took a big sip of her drink and relaxed back into the same position she was before, with her legs in Natasha's lap. 

''Now that must have been some good 'dirty talk','' Tony remarked. Katya choked on her drink. Wanting to laugh while drinking didn't work. 

''Tony.'' Steve looked at him with that powerful, disappointed frown that made you feel like a little kid who did something wrong. 

''I'm just saying, she must have played a good game with her to talk her into murder.''

''Believe me, I can talk anyone into murder,'' she smirked mischievous. ''But I hate to disappoint you, I didn't even need to have sex with her, that's how desperate she was.''

''That's just a crime,'' Tony continued, causing everyone to chuckle.

''It doesn't bother you that she had to do that?'' Steve asked Natasha, genuinely interested in her answer. 

Natasha shrugged her shoulders. ''Not at all, it's just work. As long as she comes home to me, I don't care.'' Katya smiled at her, catching her eyes and holding them for a moment.

Clint threw one of the sticks he was holding in their direction but Katya caught it easily. ''Stop being so perfect and enviable, you're making all of us feel lonely.''

He got the stick hurled back at his head with twice the force. ''Shut up Barton.''

Clint shrieked and shielded his head, attempting to hide behind Maria, who sat next to him. But she was quick to put him in a loose chokehold, right in the line of the drumstick. It hit his head with a thud and fell on the floor with a clatter. 

''I hate all of you,'' he muttered angrily when everyone laughed at his shriek and the look on his face. 

Katya laughed with her friends and wished they could have this every night. Because these moments are what made life worth living. Simple moments in which your chest fills with warmth and happiness.


	53. Worthy (or not)

For some reason, the conversation had landed on the topic of Thor's hammer. It sat on the coffee table, in the middle of everyone who was still awake and present. 

Katya would be lying if she said the weapon didn't fascinate her. It was strange, she had seen the weirdest things in her lifetime: Inhumans, enhanced people, aliens, but the hammer was something else. Centuries old, from another planet with real gods, able to be picked up by only the worthy. 

Because of the latter, Thor left it laying around everywhere, knowing it would be in the exact same spot if he needed it. Although no one on the team had ever tried to lift it, everyone kind of knew they wouldn't be able to. They weren't exactly the best humanity had to offer. 

Clint, who had more than enough alcohol in his system, was frustrated he didn't understand how the hammer worked and that Thor didn't want to say more about it. 

''But, it's a trick!'' He was still spinning those drumsticks around in his hands, fatigue far from setting in. 

Thor found the whole situation more than funny, a big smile on his face at Clint's frustration. ''Oh, no. It's much more than that.'' He clanged his bottle of beer against Steve's, who also wasn't done drinking. 

Clint gestured widely towards the hammer. ''Uh, "Whosoever be he worthy shall haveth the power!"'' He mocked Thor's deep, strong voice. ''Whatever man! It's a trick.''

''Well please, be my guest.'' Thor invited Clint to try and lift the hammer, a confident smile on his face as he did. By this point, everyone had stopped their private conversations and turned to the action in the middle. They all looked at Clint expectantly, wanting to see if he would accept Thor's offer.

''Come on,'' Stark nudged Clint. Tony was always one who liked to have some fun and make fun of people if they failed. Not in a bad way, he just liked to embarrass them.

Clint was unsure if Thor was serious. ''Really?''

''Yeah.''

Clint stood up and Katya almost expected people to cheer. Instead, Clint was met with sarcastic remarks from Rhodey and Stark, who were not the best duo when drunk.

''Oh this is gonna be beautiful.'' Everyone was excited to see what would happen. Drinks were suddenly forgotten and everyone sat up a bit straighter. 

''Clint, you've had a tough week, we won't hold it against you if you can't get it up.'' There was laughter at the double meaning of Tony's sentence, but it all didn't seem to bother Clint, who was hellbent on lifting that hammer.

''I am going to film this.'' Katya was scrambling for her phone, which had disappeared somewhere on the couch she was on. 

Like one of his arrows leaving his bow, Clint snapped around, pointing one warning finger at her. ''Katariina Petrova, if you so much as touch that phone, you're dead.'' His tone was serious, but his eyes shone with humor. 

She laughed at his reaction, lifting her hands in surrender. ''Alright Rocky, calm down.''

Clint nodded in satisfaction and finally moved to the hammer. ''You know I've seen this before, right?'' With the drumsticks still in his left hand, he grabbed the leather handle of the weapon and pulled at it at once. But, like everyone suspected, nothing happened.

He let go, trying to laugh it off. ''I still don't know how you do it.''

''Loser,'' Katya muttered just loud enough for him to hear.

''Smell the silent judgement?'' Tony was really enjoying this.

''Please, Stark, by all means,'' Clint invited him. 

Tony, ever the drama queen, stood up in an exaggerated manner, unbuttoning his suit jacket, which was met with lots of encouraging sounds from the others. Katya rolled her eyes at his theatrics, but the smile on her face only grew bigger. ''Never one to shrink from an honest challenge.''

''Oh, here we go,'' Natasha said to no one in particular, feeling the same way Katya did.

''It's physics.'' Tony twisted his hand in the strap and got ready to pull. ''Right, so, if I lift it, I then rule Asgard?'' O gosh, for the sake of everyone on Asgard and its neighboring realms, please don't let Tony lift it. 

Thor nodded, completely comfortable on his chair. ''Yes, of course.''

''I will be re-instituting Prima Nocta.'' For the non-history nerds among us, it was an ancient law where the monarch has legal right to have sex with any female subject on her wedding night. So, really a classic Tony Stark joke. 

With one foot on the table and two hands around the handle, he started to pull. But, probably to Thor's great relief, the hammer didn't move one inch. 

Tony looked genuinely embarrassed, but didn't want to give up yet. ''I'll be right back.'' It wasn't hard to guess where he was going. 

Back from the lab with one arm of his suit, he tried again. Katya had no idea why he believed this would bring him another result than before, but just to see him try so hard was way too much fun. 

''Rhodey, little help here?''

''Just give it up, Stark,'' Katya laughed as Rhodey walked off to get his own suit.

''I will never admit defeat,'' was his dramatic answer.

Rhodey and Tony argued, but didn't manage to lift it either, which ruled out Rhodey as future king of Asgard.

Banner tried next and wasn't any more successful than the others, in fact, it was even more embarrassing. When noticing he wouldn't be able to lift it either, he backed off with a roar, channeling his inner Hulk. It was supposed to be a joke, but he was met with silence and awkward stares. 

Natasha was so kind as to smile apologetically to make him feel better, but Katya didn't think it did anything. 

Next was Steve, who didn't look too enthusiastic. 

''Let's go, Steve, no pressure,'' Tony hyped him up. 

Rogers was probably the only person here who even had the slightest chance at being able to lift it. That man was pure goodness and had a heart as big as a football. He rolled up his sleeves, which Katya had probably found quite attractive, had she swung that way too.

He got ready to lift it, those big muscles of his flexing. ''Come on, Cap,'' Clint encouraged him.

What nobody expected, definitely not after four people had already tried, is that the hammer would move. It wasn't much, but enough to make a screeching noise against the glass of the table. Thor's smile dropped from his face in a panic.

Everyone froze and eyes widened, but it didn't move again. Steve laughed, backing off, and Thor joined him in relief. Happy he didn't have to share the throne with the super soldier. ''Nothing.''

Now, there were only two people of the OG Avengers who didn't have a turn with the hammer, and they didn't get off to easily. They all stared at the two women on the couch, Natasha with a beer in her hand and Katya occupied with her own alcoholic drink.

''Widow?'' Bruce asked, eyebrows raised in challenge and question.

But Natasha had no intent on moving, leaning back in her chair as a sign she was backing off. ''Oh, no no. That's not a question I need answered.''

''Katya? You want to try your luck?'' Steve asked her kindly.

Katya looked around, seeing everyone's expectant eyes on her, before her own blue ones landed on Natasha's for any indication on what she should do. But her green eyes just stared back at her with the same look the others had, curious to know the answer to Steve's question herself.

Something about that pushed her over the edge, and to everyone's surprise, she stood up, straightening her dress and walking around the table on her bare feet, careful not to trip over the empty glasses and people's feet.

''Alright Petrova,'' Tony cheered, clapping his hands in excitement.

''I am doing this to prove there's no hope for me anymore,'' she joked as she grabbed the handle. 

Natasha stared at her most expectantly, her green eyes focused on her and her only. But the second Katya's fingers wrapped around the worn leather, she knew she wouldn't be able to lift it. It was a really weird feeling, but the weapon had read her in a split second and decided she wasn't worthy. A certain pull, like gravity, pulled the hammer down and didn't go away when it sensed her. 

But it was too late to back off now, so she pulled and indeed, it didn't budge. 

''Sorry Thor,'' she apologized jokingly, letting it go. ''Looks like Asgard won't have a queen just yet.''

''It would have been a good queen,'' he flattered her, to which she smiled widely. Thor may be large and look terrifying, he was all mush inside. 

''All deference to the man who wouldn't be king, but it's rigged,'' Tony stated as Katya returned to her spot on the couch, feeling no different than before. The fact she wasn't able to lift it didn't surprise her. It was quite the opposite actually, it showed her exactly what she believed all along: she had done too much wrong that it stained her soul and heart.

''You bet your ass,'' Clint agreed with Tony, trying to explain the reason he wasn't able to lift it. 

Maria jumped at the opportunity to tease Steve. ''Steve, he said a bad language word.''

Katya laughed at Steve's reaction, which clearly indicated he regretted ever bringing it up. The man hang his head in shame and embarrassment, looking at Tony with an exhausted sigh. ''Did you tell everyone about that?''

Tony acted like he didn't hear it, going back to the previous topic. ''The handle's imprinted, right? Like a security code. "Whosoever is carrying Thor's fingerprints" is, I think, the literal translation?''

''Yes, well that's, uh, that's a very, very interesting theory.'' Thor got up from his seat, never once putting his beer down. ''I have a simpler one.'' With ease, he picks up the hammer and throws it in the air, catching it casually. ''You're all not worthy.''

A chorus of disagreement and booing sounds erupted from everyone, but it was harshly interrupted by a painfully high screeching noise. It was almost that feedback sound a microphone makes, but higher and painful for your ears.

Katya covered her ears, but it was over before it even started. It had ruined the mood in the room though, as everyone was now suddenly back to seriousness. It could just be a malfunction in some electrics, but Katya had a bad feeling about it. This was Avengers Tower, everything was designed by Tony Stark, malfunctioning devices weren't common here.

Tony grabbed his tablet screen thingy from his pocket to see what was going on, but Katya was way too occupied with what was happening on her right side. She seemed to notice before the others did, and was already on her feet before the unknown presence was around the corner and into their line of sight. 

''Worthy,'' the word was dragged out, as if the thing saying it was testing how to talk or how the word sounded. At this point, everyone was alerted and turned to the metal robot at the side of the room.   
''No... How could you be worthy? You're all killers.'' The robot moved clumsily, as if it wasn't sure how to move his limbs. 

''Stark,'' Steve asked Tony, who wasn't more wise than anyone else on what was going on. Katya could see on his face he had no idea where this robot came from and why it did what it did.

''JARVIS.'' Tony tried his trusty UI, but there was no answer. JARVIS was never gone, this wasn't good.

Katya knew this would end in a fight. The way the robot talked to them and seemed to hate them, she felt threatened. And whenever she felt that way, her first instinct was to grab any weapon she had. Right now, that was the knife she had strapped to her leg underneath her dress. Even though it was a party in her own home, she could never be too careful and this hostile robot in front of them proved her point exactly.

''I'm sorry, I was asleep.'' The robot looked around confused. ''Or...I was a-dream?''

Tony tapped on his tablet quite pressingly, but nothing happened. 

''There was a terrible noise. And I was tangled in... in...'' it looked at all the loose wires hanging from his 'body', ''strings. I had to kill the other guy. He was a good guy.''

Katya shared an anxious look with Natasha, who had gotten to the same conclusion as her. This wasn't going to end well. 

''You killed someone?'' Steve asked accusingly, his righteousness coming to the surface.

''Wouldn't have been my first call.'' It said casually. Katya was sure that if it had shoulders, it would have shrugged them. ''But, down in the real world we're faced with ugly choices.''

''Who sent you?'' Thor asked. 

His answer was something nobody saw coming. Katya expected one of their enemies to have send it, or maybe even aliens at this point, but what she didn't expect was to hear the voice of her own teammate. ''"I see a suit of armor around the world".''

All eyes were on Tony, trying to find an explanation for this, but they didn't get one. Bruce was the one who put the pieces together, his eyes lighting up with realization. ''Ultron.'' But what might have made it clear for him, only brought more questions for Katya. What the hell had the two men been working on in that lab?

''I'm sorry, who?'' Her question got lost when the robot, who was apparently called Ultron, started talking again. 

''In the flesh. Or, no, not yet. Not this...chrysalis.'' Around Katya, people seemed to finally understand that this thing was a threat. Thor tightened his grip on the hammer everyone had been joking over not even one minute ago, and she heard a safety being clicked off of a gun. Katya could really do with a gun right now, the knife probably won't do too much against a metal robot. ''But I'm ready. I'm on a mission.''

''What mission?'' Natasha asked, confusion and caution in her voice.

''Peace in our time.'' This was the moment the robot had been waiting for, the moment to finally get to the point. And he did that by summoning more robots, Tony's suit army meant for protecting the city, and letting them loose on the people in the room. They broke through the glass behind Ultron, flying up to the team in no time. 

But Katya was prepared and dove for the first shelter she could find, which was the couch. Since she was closest to Helen Cho, she took the responsibility to protect the doctor because she couldn't protect herself. ''Stay down!'' Katya yelled over the fighting. Without a gun, she didn't think she would be off much help, so her main goal was to let the big guys take care of the robots and for her to take care of the doctor.

There was lots of breaking glass as people got thrown through it or robots missed a shot for someone’s head. Realizing she was way too exposed in the middle of the room, she grabbed Helen's arm and pulled her towards the piano in the corner of the room. Zigzagging to prevent being shot at, they made it there and dove under it. 

It wasn't the best spot, but Katya knew there would be a gun taped underneath it. It was a spy thing, hiding weapons everywhere in case of emergency. This counted as an emergency. As she checked to see if it was loaded, she knew bullets probably didn't do much, but it gave her a sense of security the knife couldn't provide. She hoped Steve, Thor and Tony would take care of the robots quickly.

''Here.'' Katya pushed her knife in Helen's hand. It wasn't a new object for her, being a doctor, but Katya wasn't sure she had ever used a knife as a weapon before. 

The blonde spy peeked from underneath the furniture, aiming for the robots closest to her. Like she had expected, the bullets deflected off the metal, but it did distract them from trying to kill her friends. 

''Stark!'' She heard Steve yell through the chaos. His voice came from higher up and to her surprise, they both had jumped on the back of a robot and were flying high in the air. Tony was fumbling with a screwdriver of some sorts, probably trying to short-circuit the electronics, while Steve tried to... choke... a robot.

''One sec, one sec!'' Tony yelled back. The robots started to chant in a really creepy way, repeating the same words over and over again. ''We are here to help. We are here to help...''

Truly, it made Katya feel like she had landed in a bad horror movie. But there was no time for thoughts when a robot, or actually only the top half of it, suddenly hovered in front of the piano, raising his hand and getting ready to shoot her. She reacted by raising her own weapon, aiming for the wires in his exposed neck that would hopefully shut the whole thing down. There weren't many bullets left in her gun, so she had to be precise. 

With three shots, she brought the thing down, damaging enough of its wires to shut it down and keep it that way. Helen exhaled in relief behind her, thanking her frantically. This really wasn't her scene.

Clint threw Steve's shield to him, which he caught easily, and within the same movement, threw it towards the last robot that was really annoying Natasha. It fell on the ground with a clatter, after which it turned eerily quiet. 

Assessing the situation and concluding it was safe enough, Katya crawled away under the piano and extended her hand to Helen, who gratefully accepted it and pulled herself up. After brushing off the woman's thank-yous, she stumbled back towards the middle of the room, ignoring the glass splinters in her feet and arms. 

''That was dramatic,'' Ultron said, not bothered by the whole fight at all. ''I'm sorry, I know you mean well. You just didn't think it through.''

Steve walked closer to the robot, ready to smash it to pieces if it did something like that again. 

''You want to protect the world, but you don't want it to change.'' Katya looked up to the balcony, where Natasha looked at Bruce with an accusing and questioning look. She had a feeling that he knew more about this than he was letting off. 

''How is humanity saved if it's not allowed to...evolve?'' Did Ultron just sound... pissed? Katya didn't know robots were able to feel emotions, so this must not be your average machine.

Ultron bended down, picking up one of the fallen suits with disgust. ''With these? These puppets?'' The head of it got crushed by Ultron's strong hands, which only showed how powerful it really was. Katya only took this as a warning not to underestimate it. 

''There's only one path to peace: The Avengers' extinction.'' A shiver went down her spine at the threat before she jumped at Thor's hammer smashing through the robot, successfully blowing it to pieces, but not before it finished the creepy performance with an even creepier song. ''I had strings, but now I'm free. There are no strings on me, no strings on me.''

A painful silence fell over the room, everyone staring at the dead robot on the floor, not sure if it was really done now. But when nothing happened, Katya relaxed a little. They all gathered at the place they were sitting and having fun before but had now turned into a war zone. Checking to see if her gun was empty, Katya spoke what everyone was thinking. 

''That was a threat.''


	54. Ultron

After Katya had repeatedly assured Natasha she was fine and could get the glass shards out of her feet herself, but she still didn't listen. The redhead had changed from her beautiful party dress into something a little more comfortable and had brought Katya one of her sweaters to wear over her dress, since the blonde was too occupied with prying the glass from the soles of her feet. 

They had gathered in the lab, followed Tony there, wanting an explanation for everything that had happened. Despite the fight, nobody got seriously hurt. Helen was fine, thanks to Katya, and Maria had only found herself with glass in her feet too. The man were fine, a split lip here and some bruises there, but nothing too serious. 

Katya sat on one of the tables, Natasha crouched down by her feet with some pliers, doing her best to get everything out and clean it nicely.

''All our work is gone. Ultron cleared out, used the internet as an escape hatch,'' Banner announced, having checked the system for any traces of the robot. Apparently, he had deleted all their research on the scepter and bolted with it. Nice, now they were back on square one.

''Ultron,'' Steve spat. On his face, Katya could see how annoyed he was with everything. Not knowing Tony and Bruce had been working on creating an AI and accidentally bringing a murder bot to life. 

Natasha stopped her work for a moment, turning around to the others. ''He's been in everything. Files, surveillance. Probably knows more about us than we know about each other.'' She wasn't as pissed as Steve. Natasha wasn't someone who got pissed over things she couldn't help. It had been done, there was no use getting angry and dwelling on the past. 

But the others didn't think the same about that and jumped at the opportunity to get mad at Tony. Granted, it was stupid of him to experiment with alien tech, but this was never his intent. Everyone makes mistakes but Tony always got the worst of it. 

''He's in your files, he's in the internet. What if he decides to access something a little more exciting?'' Rhodey implied, everyone grasping immediately what he wanted to say.

Maria froze, looking up with shock. ''Nuclear codes.''

''Nuclear codes,'' Rhodey confirmed. ''Look, we need to make some calls, assuming we still can.''

Natasha spoke up again, a little confused with the turn the conversation took. ''Nukes? He said he wanted us dead.''

''He didn't say dead. He said extinct,'' Steve corrected her.

''What's the difference? They both end with us being dead.'' Katya tried to lighten the mood, but was only met with blank stares and warning eyes from Steve, so she backed off and let the others fight it out. 

''He also said he killed somebody,'' Clint joined the conversation. He didn't seem too shaken up from the whole thing, but then again, it's not as if he would show that.

Maria furrowed her brows. ''But there wasn't anyone else in the building.'' Katya wasn't sure who Ultron would have killed either. Maybe someone passed out on another floor of the building? 

''Yes there was,'' Stark muttered sadly. With a swing of his tablet, a hologram filled the lab. At first, Katya didn't know what she was looking at, but whatever it was, it was broken. Destruction she did know.

''What?'' Bruce walked to the image, shock in his eyes. ''This is insane,'' he breathed in disbelief. Katya still had no idea what she was looking at, but if she had to go on the reactions of everyone in the room, it was quite impressive.

''JARVIS was the first line of defense. He would've shut Ultron down, it makes sense.'' Ah so it was JARVIS, another mystery solved. How Ultron got past JARVIS so easily and was able to destroy him without Tony getting warned once again proved how smart and powerful the AI was. And it was out to kill them, great.

''No,'' Banner contradicted Steve's statement, ''Ultron could've assimilated Jarvis. This isn't strategy, this is...rage.'' So an angry robot AI that killed without mercy, even better.

The conversation was interrupted by heavy footsteps marching into the room. Everyone looked up at Thor, who stormed in, back in his armor and hammer in hand. He was clearly on a mission, because he walked straight to Tony, grabbing his throat and holding his body up in the air, the billionaire's feet dangling just above the floor.

''It's going around,'' Clint muttered. Katya had forgotten all about her feet and focused on the conversation. It was getting out of hand fast.

''Come on. Use your words, buddy,'' Tony breathed, his voice weak from the lack of oxygen he was getting. 

But Thor wasn't planning on letting him go any time soon. ''I have more than enough words to describe you, Stark.'' The god was probably angriest of all, even more than Steve. Ultron had taken the scepter, or rather, one of his robot lackies had taken the scepter from the lab. So not even a week after the team had finally secured it, it went missing again. If that didn't describe the chaos of the team, what did?

''Thor!'' Steve called his name, bringing him back to his senses. ''The Legionnaire.'' 

With reluctance, Thor dropped Stark in a harsh way, causing the man to stumble and gasp for air. 

''Trail went cold about a hundred miles out but it's headed north, and it has the scepter,'' the god said angrily. ''Now we have to retrieve it, again.''

Natasha followed the conversation passively like Katya, her sharp eyes taking everything in, gauging everyone's mood, but spoke up trying to calm everything down. ''The genie's out of that bottle. Clear and present is Ultron.'' She knew too it wasn't of any use to dwell on the past, better they worked on a plan to get the scepter back and beat Ultron. 

''I don't understand.'' Helen Cho studied Ultron's broken body on the other side of the room, trying to make sense of all of it. Katya had honestly forgotten about the doctor. She was a quiet and invisible person. ''You built this program. Why is it trying to kill us?'' She asked Tony.

To everyone's surprise and disapproval, Tony started laughing. It was an odd contrast to the previous, tense atmosphere and it felt completely wrong. But Katya knew exactly why he was laughing, had figured it out after Ultron's speech. The Avengers may be fighting the bad guys, they were also the reason a lot of them existed. The team had caused so many accidents, had blown up so many buildings and cities. Hell, look at the battle of New York, perfect example right there. 

Ultron understood that by ending the Avengers, the world would get some of that peace life revolved around. But in the current situation, maybe laughing wasn't the best way to bring that.  
Thor also didn't see the humor. ''You think this is funny?''

''No. It's probably not, right?'' Stark asked rhetorically, his question met with blank stares. ''This is very terrible? Is it so...is it so...it is. It's so terrible.'' He had trouble keeping himself from laughing. Katya shook her head. If this continued like this, who knows what would happen. It felt like she was back on the Helicarrier in 2012, seconds before Loki would blow a hole in the side of the lab. This kind of arguing, she had hoped the team had moved past all that, but Banner had been right that day, they were a time bomb.

''This could've been avoided if you hadn't played with something you don't understand.''

''No, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. It is funny. It's a hoot that you don't get why we need this.''

Banner tried to calm Tony down, although Katya feared it was too late for that. ''Tony, maybe this might not be the time to...''

''Really?! That's it? You just roll over, show your belly, every time somebody snarls?''

''Only when I've created a murder bot.'' Bruce understood this was the wrong way to go and he and Tony had made a mistake by toying with the scepter. At least he knew he had to take the blame. 

''We didn't. We weren't even close. Were we close to an interface?'' Stark asked him honestly and Banner just shrugged, his face saying: kinda.

''Well, you did something right,'' Steve interrupted harshly, done with beating around the bush. ''And you did it right here. The Avengers were supposed to be different than SHIELD.'' They failed at that, didn't they? It was days like these that Katya missed her old job, missed working for Fury. At least there it was clear who was in charge, what the mission was and what she did it for. But she always shook those thoughts out of her head quickly. 

It was easy to hide behind Fury, behind SHIELD. Here, with the Avengers, she had to stand on her own, decide her own right and wrong, think for herself and not just follow orders mindlessly. It was a pain in the ass sometimes, but when everything worked out, it was worth it. Right now was one of those times where she had the feeling everything was falling apart.

''Anybody remember when I carried a nuke through a wormhole?''

''No, it's never come up,'' Rhodey sarcastically replied.

''Saved New York?''

''Never heard that.''

''Recall that? A hostile alien army came charging through a hole in space. We're standing three hundred feet below it. We're the Avengers. We can bust arms dealers all the live long day, but, that up there? That's...that's the end game. How were you guys planning on beating that?'' And that was the moment Katya understood him, understood his work with the scepter and his will to create an AI. 

Fear. 

Fear of being unable to protect the world, unable to protect those he loves. And whether he liked it or not, that included the team. All he wanted to do was protect them. The way he did that, unfortunately, had turned around back on him. 

Steve stepped closer to Tony, speaking only one word that was both powerful and naïve. ''Together.''

''We'll lose.''

''Then we'll do that together, too.'' 

Tony stared at him, a silent battle raging in his head. Katya understood where Tony was coming from, but she also understood Steve. Stark just wanted to protect the world, but Steve was right in this not being the right way. 

The tension and silence was broken when Tony finally looked away, admitting defeat, and Steve turned to spoke to everyone else in the room. ''Thor's right. Ultron's calling us out. And I'd like to find him before he's ready for us. The world's a big place. Let's start making it smaller.''

''Please tell me that plan involves me sleeping,'' Katya muttered to Natasha, who helped her off the table. 

''Go, get some rest,'' Natasha murmured back, keeping her voice low and between them. ''I'll wake you up when we have something.''

''Are you sure?'' It didn't feel right to leave the team right now, but the alcohol had made her sleepy and socializing with others drained her energy. 

Natasha nodded, smiling softly. ''Yeah, we have nine people on this problem, I'm sure we can miss you for a couple hours.''

''Alright, try not to miss me too much though,'' Katya smiled back, squeezing her girlfriends hand before starting to leave.

''No promises.'' 

Testing her feet, Katya concluded there were no more glass pieces in it, but that wasn't really what she was focused on. Tony stood at the side of the room, bent over a computer with his back to the others. It hurt her to see him like this and felt the urge to talk to him. 

Careful not to step on any more broken glass that had somehow found its way into the lab, she trailed over to the broken man. Apparently, she had been a little too silent, because he jumped when her hand touched his shoulder.

Everyone else was already starting to leave to try and find Ultron, so nobody was listening in to their conversation. 

''Miss Petrova, what can I help you with?'' Tony joked, but his smile didn't meet his eyes and there was so much sadness in them that he wasn't able to cover up.

''I just wanted to say, I understand.'' His eyes lit up with surprise, which she didn't fail to catch. ''Yes, I know, I'm smarter than I look.'' She teased him, but her smirk disappeared fast. ''I understand why you built Ultron. I understand your need to protect to protect the world, the people you care about. I probably understand that more than anyone on this team, because my world is a very annoying redhead I can't get rid of and need to protect.'' That smile found its way on her face again.

There was so much understanding on Tony's face and also relief. Relief that someone understood him and the things he did. He didn't know what to say, hadn't expected anyone to come up to him and talk, let alone her.

''Just know that you're not alone in this fight. You're part of a team, and that's where you made the mistake. Talk to us, Tony, and you'll be surprised how much people are prepared to help you and be there for you.'' She laid her hand on his arm, smiling kindly as a way of saying goodbye, and finally walked out of the lab to get some rest. 

Tony had never said anything during her speech, but he didn't have to. Reading people was what Katya was best at, so he had spoken to her more than he could have with words. 

With her painful feet, Katya dragged herself to the elevator and up to her own floor. The alcohol still had her a little dizzy, but the events of the evening had been the best remedy against that. However, as a result, she was tired to the core. 

3:16 read the alarm clock next to her side of the double bed. It was way too early for the sun to show itself, but time always moved faster when you didn't want it to. 

Preferably, she would have taken a shower to feel clean and try to clear her head -cold showers worked best with a hangover- but she was too exhausted for that. Instead, she cleaned the makeup off her face and pulled the hair tie from her stiff hair, shaking it loose with a sigh. Stripping off her dress and sweater, not even bothering to put on pajamas or even sweatpants, she dove under the covers and drifted off to sleep almost immediately. 

There were no dreams as she slept. No dreams of killer robots or enhanced people. Not even her usual nightmares plagued her. They surfaced from time to time, the same nightmares she had always had, but had gotten a lot less frequent. Which meant she actually woke up peacefully most days, instead of screaming.

When Natasha woke her up, simply by just opening the bedroom door, it was light out. The orange sun indicated it was still early and Katya hadn't been able to sleep long. She imagined she looked like a mess; hair all tangled and dark circles under her eyes, but Natasha had seen it all at this point.

With a forced smile, the redhead informed her they had found something she needed to see. She was tired too, not having slept all night and mentally exhausted from the ever ongoing fight.

''What's up, Red?'' Katya mumbled into her pillow after groaning excessively.

Natasha suppressed the smile that wanted to form, caused by Katya being dramatic. ''Strucker's dead.''

''Always straight to the point,'' Katya sighed to herself, throwing the covers off of her almost naked body. Her head started spinning because she sat up too fast, so she waited until the room stood still before stepping to the bathroom, ignoring the lingering stare from her girlfriend on her body. 

The cold water on her face did some good, waking her up effectively. ''Ultron killed him?'' she asked Natasha, who stood with her arms crossed in the doorway, leaning against the frame. 

Natasha shrugged, her green eyes never once leaving Katya's face. ''I think so. Steve just called a meeting so I guess we'll find out.'' She pushed off the doorframe, going into their closet and pulling some clothes for Katya to wear while she brushed her teeth.

''How are your feet?''

Since Katya couldn't exactly talk with toothpaste in her mouth, she just raised up one foot so Natasha could check how it looked. Her gentle hands poked around in the sole of her foot, feeling for any remaining glass pieces, but came up empty. Grabbing some alcohol from the cupboard in the bathroom and pouring it on a cotton pad, she cleaned the tiny cuts.

Katya hissed angrily at the lack of warning, not being able to curse at the moment. She threw a glare at Natasha in the reflection of the mirror, but she just smiled. ''Don't be such a wimp.'' The redhead found it all very funny, letting Katya's right foot go and tapping her left calf as a sign to offer that one next.

Katya spit out her toothpaste, flushing her mouth with water so she could finally answer. ''A warning would be nice next time!'' 

''I will now pour some alcohol on your foot, it may hurt,'' Natasha countered sarcastically, that damn smirk still on her face. ''How is that for a warning?''

''Fine, you may proceed.''

Katya turned back to the mirror, reaching for her hairbrush and hair tie again to try and hide her oily hair. A chuckle behind her made her snap right back around, a glare landing on the source of the sound.

''I swear to god, if you don't get that smirk off your face, I'll knock it off.''

''You can certainly try.''


	55. Known Associates

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Damn forgot to update here again. I'm so sorry haha so here is a double update to make it up to you.

When they arrived at the lab, Steve wasn't there yet. Nice to call for a meeting and be the last one to show up. 

Natasha took place behind the computer Katya guessed she had been behind all night, looking for any clues of where Ultron may be. 

Bruce and Tony were on the same path, both of them behind their computers, swiping and typing on them. Their faces told her they weren't really getting anywhere. 

Thor was just pacing back and forth, annoying everyone that was busy. But you try telling a pissed off Thor to stop worrying. Katya certainly wasn't going to.

She stood next to Natasha, watching what she was doing. ''So, so far nothing?''

Natasha shook her head, frustration on her face. ''I've been going at this all night, but the thing's smart and keeps putting up firewalls I can't crack.''

''Maybe you should take a break. Let me have a try,'' Katya offered, even though she knew there was no way she could do it either. 

Natasha stopped typing, looking up at Katya with a raised eyebrow. ''You? Do you even know where the 'Delete'-button is?''

Katya gasped dramatically, feigning hurt. ''Hey! Now that is just mean.''

Despite the tense situation, it was nice to lighten the mood a little by joking around. Otherwise, it all became too heavy which also wasn't helping the atmosphere in the group.

Steve interrupted everyone, walking into the lab with Clint on his heels, the serious Captain America frown on his face. He handed Thor the tablet he was holding with the news he wanted everyone to see. 

''What is this?'' Tony asked as they all gathered around.

Thor looked at it for only a second, before slamming the piece of electronic into Tony's chest in a move of passive aggressiveness. 

''A message. Ultron killed Strucker,'' Steve informed everyone. So it was true, Ultron had now turned to not only killing UI's, but also real people now. This was a problem, a big one, and the Avengers were the cause of it. 

It was quite ironic actually. The thing Tony built for protecting the world, was the one who was messing it up. 

''And he did a Banksy at the crime scene, just for us.''

Katya snatched the tablet out of Tony's hands, wanting to see for herself what all the fuss was about, and was disgusted by what she saw. It was Strucker, alright, and Katya was happy to see the son of a bitch dead, but he wasn't the thing that was so special about the murder. 

She had seen a lot of things in her life and knew exactly when she was dealing with someone who didn't care about people's lives. They were always that little bit more extreme, went the extra mile after killing someone. Just because they enjoyed it so much. That was exactly what she saw on screen.

Right above the deceased man, on the cold gray wall of his cell, was written one word with the man's blood: peace.

Katya couldn't tear her eyes away. Banner had been right before. This is rage. 

''This is a smokescreen,'' Natasha commented upon seeing the scene. ''Why send a message when you've just given a speech?'' 

''Strucker knew something that Ultron wanted us to miss,'' Katya muttered to herself, just loud enough for the others to hear. She looked up when she felt the others staring at her. ''I mean it makes sense, killing him to shut him up forever. It is basically a page out of HYDRA's book. 'How to shut up your enemies 101'''

Tony and Steve stared at her, disturbed. But Katya just shrugged her shoulders. Meanwhile, Natasha had started typing again, trying to confirm Katya was right. ''Yeah, I bet he... Yep. Everything we had on Strucker has been erased.''

''Not everything.''

Katya groaned at the idea of having to go through all the physical copies of the files, but followed Tony to the basement without any protest. 

She grabbed a box of files for herself, taking a few folders and dropping into a comfortable looking office chair, throwing her feet up on the table. 

It was silent in the basement as everyone shuffled through papers, looking for any clues on what Strucker could have been hiding. 

Katya skipped over the pages, scanning them for the man's name but coming up empty page after page. 

Thor was going at it a lot more impatient, ripping the lids off boxes and throwing them around. 

''Well, these people are all horrible,'' Bruce spoke after a good five minutes of silence. He was looking through a box of known associates of Strucker and, not surprisingly, ran into some nasty people. 

Katya, who sat next to him, looked at who he meant and immediately sat up straight in her chair, dropping her feet from the table. ''Wait, I know that guy.'' Grabbing the file from Bruce, who looked at her confused, she took a closer look at the picture. 

He had changed, but it was definitely the same guy she had met back when she worked for HYDRA. 

Tony walked up behind her and she looked up to see him with the same look of recognition in his eyes. ''I know him, too. HYDRA?'' he asked her.

Katya nodded, remembering the time she had to close a deal with him on behalf of the organization. He could get one of the rarest materials on the planet and that wasn't something they wanted to miss out on. 

''Where do you know him from?'' she asked in return, although she had a guess.

''From back in the day,'' he answered. Katya knew what he meant. Back when Stark Industries was still a weapons manufacturer. 

Tony turned to the others, explaining who the guy was. ''He operates off the African coast, black market arms.'' Steve threw him an accusing look that really wasn't necessary. ''There are conventions, alright? You meet people, I didn't sell him anything,'' Tony defended himself, although he really didn't need to. ''He was talking about finding something new, a game changer, it was all very "Ahab."''

''This?'' Thor pointed at something on one of the pictures. It was a mark on the guy's neck, clearly branded into him like people did with cows to mark them as theirs. Like HYDRA did with the tattoo on her neck. It looked strangely familiar to Katya, but it was so long ago that nothing came up. 

''Uh, it's a tattoo. I don't think he had it...''

Thor cut Tony off. ''No, those are tattoos,'' he pointed at the black marks on the guy's neck and head, travelling over his skin like branches of a tree, ''this is a brand.''

Bruce had already scanned the picture and was cross-referencing it to symbols in the system. ''Oh, yeah. It's a word in an African dialect meaning thief, in a much less friendly way.''

''What dialect?'' Steve asked. But Katya already knew what it was and where the guy came from. 

Bruce turned back to the computer, trying to read it. He stuttered over the word. ''Wakanada...? Wa...Wa...''

''Wakanda,'' Katya cut him off, her voice loud and clear. Now, all eyes were on her, confused on why she knew this. ''What? I know things.''

Tony looked between Steve and Katya, muttering softly. ''If this guy got out of Wakanda with some of their trade goods...''

Katya scoffed lightly. ''Why do you think HYDRA was in business with him?''

''He has it?'' Tony asked her, dread setting in. This was bad news. 

Katya nodded. ''At least back then.''

''I thought your father said he got the last of it?'' Tony asked Steve, who had the same look of dread on his face.

The others followed the conversation in confusion, their eyes shooting to whoever was talking. Finally, Bruce was fed up with not being included. ''I don't follow. What comes out of Wakanda?''

Steve looked at his shield. ''The strongest metal on Earth.''

''Where is this guy now?'' 

''I might know,'' Katya stated, earning some more confused looks. ''Will everyone please stop staring at me like I grew a second head? I'm not completely useless, I know things, okay?'' 

Clint raised his hands in surrender while Natasha chuckled at her outburst. 

Katya rolled her eyes and sat down behind the same computer Bruce had looked for the Wakandan word. The others followed her closely, keeping an eye on the screen. Katya typed as she spoke, pulling up some satellite images from the place she remembered. ''When I knew him, he operated off the African coast, like Tony said. Now I might know where, but this was around ten years ago so he might have moved.''

Slowly, the wasteland that had been turned into a salvage yard, turned up on the screen. Dozens of ships lay on the beach, stranded on the shallow water or just abandoned there. They were rusty, falling apart and more than a few had been claimed by land animals looking for shelter.

''A ship?'' Natasha asked mockingly. She had expected a big building or maybe even an underground base, not a ship. ''How do you even know which one is the right one?'' She saw the amount of ships too and didn't feel like searching them all. 

Katya had the computer scan the ships and identify them, pulling up their records. ''Because I remember the name.''

With JARVIS' help, this would have gone a lot quicker. Now she had to look through all the files one by one. At the sixth one, she had a hit. ''Churchill,'' Katya read out loud, gesturing to the screen.

''Scan for heat signatures,'' Steve ordered her. 

Again, it was a bit of a struggle to work everything without JARVIS, but in the end Katya got there. 

There were a dozen workers building weapons, dragging metals back and forth and working heavy machinery. They were mostly active on the lowest floor, which would give the team the best opportunity to storm the ship from the top. 

One man sat in a room that could only be described as some sort of office. Without seeing inside, Katya didn't know for sure but the office presumably looked out over the bottom floor. ''That's him,'' she pointed at the man. It was a long shot and impossible to tell from a heat signature, but his whole operation was still there so the chances of it being him were big.

''Are you sure?'' Steve asked.

Katya shook her head, spinning her chair around to look at her team members. ''Absolutely not. But it is the ship and the operation is still there.''

Nobody said anything as they thought of the best way to handle this. Were they going to take the risk of losing a lot of time if it wasn't their guy, or were they just going to go for it. It wasn't like they had any other options. Besides, there was no sign of the twins or Ultron yet, which meant they had a little time. 

''Alright, suit up, we're going to Africa.''

~~~~~~~~

With her standard black suit on and her blonde hair in a braid, Katya was ready to go. She ran into Clint in the hallway, strapping his arrows to his back. 

''This guy, is he dangerous?'' he asked as she caught up with him. Their footsteps were silent on the hard floor, a skill they were taught as kids. 

''To a normal person, yes. To the Avengers, no.'' Katya had seen the empire he had built. He was powerful and dangerous, but he was nothing special. He didn't have any superpowers or special skills.   
''He's a fine marksman and assassin, but nothing more than that. We can definitely take him.''

''Good to know,'' Clint nodded. He held his bow tightly in his hand, but was as relaxed as ever. Everyone was always a little tense before a mission, but like Katya, Clint had gone on so many of these that he was calm and relaxed. 

Katya watched him walk, but couldn't see any signs of his burn wound still hurting him. He walked normal, but that could just be the strong painkillers. ''How's your wound?''

Clint shrugged, not bothered at all by it. ''I don't feel it at all, Doctor Cho really did wonders.'' Maybe the doctor could stay in this building. If she could fix their wounds that quickly, it would really spare them weeks of pain. 

Katya clapped his shoulder. ''Good to have you with us. I don't know what I would do without my favorite archer.''

''Aww can't my favorite assassin live without me?'' Clint teased, his eyes sparkling. 

Katya widened her eyes in feigned shock, putting her hand on her heart. ''Favorite assassin? Don't let Nat hear that.''

''Let Nat hear what?''

Katya jumped at the sudden loud voice behind her. She threw an angry glare at Natasha, who smiled smugly. ''Goddamn it, don't sneak up on me like that.''

Natasha ignored her and pushed herself between her girlfriend and best friend, looking back and forth, waiting on an answer. ''Let Nat hear what?''

Clint looked at Katya with a panicked look in his eyes, knowing she would leave him hanging there. ''Katya, help me out here?''

She patted him on his shoulder teasingly. ''Nope, sorry man, you're on your own here.''

''Katya!'' Clint hissed as she sped up her pace and left him behind with Natasha. 

''Good luck!'' She called over her shoulder, laughing as she heard Natasha interrogate Clint. 

Their bantering followed her down the hall and she smiled to herself. No matter the situation, there was always time for small moments like these. They were the best moments about being with the team. Besides protecting the world, Katya loved to find little moments to joke with her family.


	56. This Is Who You Are

The sandy wasteland greeted them through the windshield and Katya scrunched her nose at the dead ground. 

''Yeah it's no Tahiti,'' Natasha remarked from the pilot seat. She was back in her new suit with the blue stripes, her red hair perfectly framing her face. How she always looked so effortlessly beautiful, Katya didn't know. 

The blonde looked to her left, a faint smile on her lips. ''You can say that.''

Steve had briefed them on the mission earlier. He was always the one to come up with the plan, although Natasha and Katya were quick to lend their expertise to him. After all, they had been in the business way longer than Rogers. 

The plan was for Natasha, Katya and Clint to sneak in the boat from the top deck and circle down, taking out any people they ran into. They were least prepared to fight a robot, Steve had said, to which Katya for once didn't protest. If she could get out of fighting Ultron, she gladly left the boys to handle that this time.

Steve, Thor and Tony would confront Ultron, who had made it to Africa before them. He had also brought the twins, which was an extra pain in the ass. 

Katya wasn't scared of the boy. He was just a speedy annoyance. But his sister did unnerve her, and not many people could say they made Katya Petrova nervous. She had seen the way Stark had walked around mindlessly those days after they first retrieved the scepter from Sokovia. He said the woman had showed him something. Whatever it was, it had shaken him to his core. 

The screams of his nightmares woke the others in the nights he did sleep. Eventually, when he couldn't handle them anymore, he just opted for staying awake all night. 

Katya had asked him about it, but he didn't want to talk and shrugged it off. The last thing she needed was for that witch to show her her worst memories, they were already too bad to handle one by one, let alone all at once.

Banner would stay in the jet first, to be called in when the team needed him. He really didn't mind and was glad they didn't need the Hulk immediately.

Natasha skillfully landed the jet in the jungle next to the beach, dropping the ramp as it hit the ground. 

Katya was already out of her seat, checking to see if she had all her weapons ready. The guns wouldn't really help with the robots, but they did help against people. Natasha had given her some of her Widow Bites, which would help to short-circuit the electronics of the robots.

Natasha stopped in front of her, drawing Katya's attention away from her guns. Her rough hands carefully grabbed Katya's face and her green eyes looked deep into Katya's blue ones. ''Hey, be careful out there.'' 

''Always,'' Katya answered automatically, pressing a quick kiss against the redhead's lips. Those two sentences had become a standard reminder before a mission. They never left the Quinjet without the ritual and a kiss. Whether it brought them luck or not, Katya didn't really know, but nothing bad had ever happened until now so maybe it did.

The others didn't even notice anymore, it had become quite normal.

''Thor, Stark, with me,'' Steve ordered, leading the group out of the jet. ''Petrova, Barton, you're with Romanoff. Remember, look out for the kids and try taking them in.'' Steve believed they could turn the kids and get them on their side. Katya was more skeptical but she had once been in their position too, brainwashed with false information, so maybe it wasn't so crazy after all.

Everyone nodded, agreeing on the plan, and went their separate ways. 

The sand was difficult to walk on, but it got wetter and wetter the closer they came to the boat which made it easier.

When they finally made it to the rusty thing, Katya followed Natasha's example, shooting a hook to the top of the boat and climbing the rope. She prayed the fragile metal would hold her and she wouldn't fall down halfway up. Luckily, all three made it to the deck and to the stairwell, carefully avoiding the holes in the floor.

With her gun out, Katya descended the stairs. Like always, Natasha closed the row, Clint leading in front with an arrow ready to fly. 

Loud voices travelled up through the boat, echoing between the metal walls. Otherwise, it was silent. Deadly silent. The three didn't run into anyone on their way down. 

A couple floors down, four up from the one Ultron was on, Clint signaled this would be a good vantage point for him. He shuffled to the railing, carefully looking down on the other team members. Katya pressed her own back against the wall and leaned forward just enough to see Ultron, who was suddenly two times as big. 

His size shocked her and when she looked to the left, Natasha had the same look on her face. This wasn't going to be an easy fight.

''Ah, this is funny, Mr. Stark. It's what, comfortable? Like old times?'' A young, male voice spoke up and Katya saw the kid from the woods. This was the speedy one.

''This was never my life,'' Tony defended himself as he saw the missiles at the bottom of the boat. Katya had been right, this was still Klaue's base of operations.

''You two can still walk away from this,'' Steve tried to convince the twins, but they didn't look like they wanted his help. In fact, they stared at him with such hatred Katya questioned they could ever be turned.

''Oh, we will,'' the woman, Wanda, sarcastically said. Katya had only seen her in pictures, but she did look young. Her long hair was tied up into a high ponytail, her dress ending just above her knees. It wasn't exactly a fighting outfit, but then again, she didn't need to use her body to fight.

''I know you've suffered,'' Steve tried again, but at this point it was useless.

Ultron groaned. ''Uuughh! Captain America. God's righteous man, pretending you could live without a war. I can't physically throw up in my mouth, but...''

''If you believe in peace, then let us keep it,'' Thor nobly offered. Katya knew they were talking to a wall, but she admired their stubbornness.

''I think you're confusing peace with quiet.''

''Yuh-huh. What's the Vibranium for?'' Stark asked, done with the games. 

''I'm glad you asked that, because I wanted to take this time to explain my evil plan.'' With those words, all hell broke loose. One minute, Tony was standing between Steve and Thor and the next, he was pulled forward by a strong magnetic force and thrown backwards into the steel wall behind, leaving a huge dent.

Other robots, the Iron Legion bots that were a little bit smaller, started to attack Thor and Steve, while Tony flew after Ultron. 

''Shoot them!'' Katya heard Klaue yell in the chaos. And not even a second later, the first of his men stormed up the stairs and she had to fight to stay alive.

Of course they had guns. All of them. Katya pulled out her own, covering Natasha who was fighting the men behind her. Clint shot the guys still walking on the stairs, trying to give them a little room to breathe.

Katya didn't pay attention to what was happening downstairs, if the boys could hold their own against one big ass robot, a couple smaller ones and two enhanced teenagers. All her energy went to protecting herself. 

Klaue's men clearly weren't killers or fighters, so Katya could easily pick them off one by one. Natasha didn't have too many trouble knocking hers out too. 

It seemed to be going well. This was a fight they could win. That was, until Thor spoke through the comms and what Katya had feared was happening. ''The girl tried to warp my mind. Take special care, I doubt a human could keep her at bay. Fortunately, I am mighty...'' His voice trailed off at the end and he didn't respond after that, which worried Katya. 

''Steve? What's your status?'' She asked just to be sure he was okay. When he didn't respond either, she got really worried. Anxiety filled her stomach as the place grew quiet. With Thor and Steve out of it, Clint and Nat were the only ones still standing beside her.

The blonde had trailed off a little from Natasha, but at the gods warning, wasted no time in running back to her. Luckily, when she got to her, she was still standing. ''Something's wrong,'' Katya muttered quietly.

She felt it before it hit her, but it was too late. Natasha's warning was too late. With one big blow to her side, Pietro knocked her into the rock solid steel wall with such a force that she was out immediately. Blackness overtook Katya's vision while she prayed it stayed black and no images would show up. 

But when did life ever give her what she wanted?

A deep feeling of emptiness settled in her stomach. It was the feeling that had dominated her life the first two decades. It was such an overwhelming, powerful rush Katya felt she couldn't breathe. After not feeling it for years, it hit her all at once and she realized how much she has healed. Now, those stitches keeping that wound closed were ripped out at once.

Katya didn't want to open her eyes and see where the vision had dropped her, but she wasn't in control. She was a passenger on this ride, a bystander watching a house burn down. 

She was back home. The smell was the same. The iron smell of blood, mixed with fear and sweat and the wood covering the walls. The interior of the building didn't fit with the horrors that occurred within its rooms. Katya didn't know someone could be afraid of a place, but upon seeing the worn-out carpets and the big staircase, she wanted to cry or scream or both. 

Something, a force she couldn't see or feel, pushed her towards a room she knew all too well. This was the training room, the one where girls fought each other until one couldn't continue. This was the material of her nightmares. The bones cracking, the blood dripping from ears and noses. 

''Петрова, твой ход'' (Petrova, your turn), the harsh voice of her trainer said. Again, Katya couldn't see anything. The entire room had turned dark as soon as she set foot on the black mat. Black so the blood didn't show up that much. She couldn't see more than a couple feet in front of her, like a spotlight was put on her. The star of this horror show.

Determined not to show fear like she was taught from a young age, Katya clenched her fists to stop the trembling and straightened her shoulders. The second she saw who her opponent was however, all that determination fell away. 

It was Natasha alright, but not the twenty-something year old woman she knew now. No, it was fifteen year old Natalia Romanova. Her red hair was the same, though way longer, but her eyes held a sadness and emptiness Katya hadn't seen in years but knew all too well. 

''Продолжай. Ты знаешь что делать'' (Go on, you know what to do), the voice behind her spoke. But Katya wasn't planning on even laying a finger on the girl in front of her. So young but having lost her innocence years ago. 

Katya knew how these fights ended. They ended only if one of them stopped breathing. It was in that moment Katya got reminded once again how much she cared for the woman in front of her. Without a doubt, she would sacrifice her life just so the redhead could live. Without a doubt, she would stick a knife into her own heart or put a bullet in her own head just so Natasha would survive. 

The thought of ever coming in a situation where she had sacrifice herself to save Natasha used to scare the hell out of her. But standing here, looking into those fiery green eyes she loved so much, all that fear disappeared. A choice had never been so simple.

Katya planted her feet on the floor, turning her head in the direction of where she believed her teacher stood. ''No,'' she answered, shocked by how strong her voice sounded. 

This time, her teacher didn't speak from behind Katya, but from right in front of her, where a second ago, a young Natasha stood ready to fight. ''Вы слишком заботитесь о ней. Это твоя ошибка'' (You care too much about her. That is your mistake.)

Katya whipped her head back around, her breath hitching in her throat. The same girl stood there with the red hair and the green eyes, but this time they didn't look empty, they looked terrified and were begging Katya to help her. A dirty gun was placed against the girl's temple, only the hand of the person holding it visible in the spotlight. 

Katya wanted to scream, to beg, to rip that gun out of the person's hand, but her body was frozen by a force she couldn't control. Once again she was a bystander, a witness to the murder that would shatter her heart. 

The click of a bullet sliding into place rang through the air, but still Katya couldn't move. She could only watch as the finger tightened around the trigger, the moment dragging out painfully long. Every second, she thought: this is it, now the familiar bang of a gunshot will come. And the whole time, she couldn't rip her eyes away from the green ones that told her she was failing. 

Desperation is one of the most powerful emotions in the world. It is something that eats you up inside, always reaching for something but never getting it. Until you're on your knees begging for it. Katya wished she could beg, but when the gunshot finally rung out, a blinding darkness and deafening silence overtook her instead, saving her from watching her girlfriend drop to the ground.

Deep inside, somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew this wasn't real. What she was seeing wasn't reality, but the feeling in her chest told her otherwise. How could these things not be real if what she was feeling was the realest thing in the world?

Katya still wanted to cry and scream, but nothing came out. It was just emptiness as the next scene appeared before her. As soon as the screams filled her ears, Katya knew where she was. She would never forget those sounds. They haunted her in her nightmares and when it was too silent in the compound. They sneaked up on her in the shower or during breakfast. 

The heat burned her face, drying her tears if there would have been any. But she didn't cry then and she couldn't cry now, leaving her to wonder how much she had really changed.

The thick black smoke swirled up in big clouds, covering the sunlight more than rainclouds ever could. It was a stark contrast with the bright flames licking up the walls of the building and coming out the roof. 

71 children. Katya would never forget that number. 

They never told her why she had to burn it down. Why she had to burn 71 children in their sleep. But HYDRA never did something just for the fun of it, although they were deranged and psycho enough to do it. No, behind every attack, every kill, was an underlying motive. Problem was, with Katya being just an asset, she didn't get told what that motive was. She was just sent to kill innocent children in their sleep.

After this mission, the one she had to witness all over again, she had thought about ending it for good. The devil's advocate, the worst of humanity, a demon disguised as a pretty woman. That same helpless, horrible feeling threatened to overwhelm her again as she watched the flames swallow the building whole. She knew what came next, she had seen that part too. 

With a loud rumble, the roof collapsed, taking the rest of the building down with it. The screams had stopped long before that, the oxygen inside consumed by the fire. 

''просто помни: это ты'' (Just remember: this is who you are) 

Katya snapped around, looking for the voice, but she tripped over her feet as she did so and fell forwards. She stuck out her arms, trying to break her fall, but right before she hit ground, the scene in front of her eyes flickered again. Knowing what would come next, Katya braced herself.

With a thud, her stomach hit the ground. Not the dirty outside ground she had expected, but rather a floor. A nice, expensive, clean floor. 

During her years at HYDRA, Katya had killed a lot of people, but none had been as important as the one she was about to kill right now. For the second time. 

The roars of the crowd travelled through the open balcony doors. She lay just inside her room, or rather the room she had broken into on the highest floor of one of the buildings surrounding the square. The roof would have been ideal, but there were helicopters circling over the area that would spot her in no time. 

Katya felt herself repeating the same actions as that day in 2005, although they were unconscious, like someone was doing them for her. Adjusting the viewer on her sniper gun, loading a bullet into place, knowing this was the only one she could use. They would be on her immediately after firing, so there was no time for mistakes. 

With her finger on the trigger, she followed the automobile, the roofless automobile. She waited for the perfect moment and shot with steady hands. 

She wished she didn't have to see this again, but she was just a passenger inside her own body, unable to close her eyes or cover her ears.

The Pope went down with one simple shot to the back of his head. Katya counted to two. One second for the man to fall down and one second for the crowd to register what was going on. 

She had already started to take apart her gun when the screaming started. The screaming seemed to be a big part of the jobs she did. It was the complete opposite of her, her actions. She was silent as night, striking like a snake before anyone knew what was happening. But the result was always someone screaming. 

Sometimes she didn't hear it and someone would scream hours later, when she was long home. A wife finding her husband with a knife to his chest, a child finding their teacher on the classroom floor, poisoned by a couple drops into his morning coffee. Weird how people's first reaction to fear is to scream. Screaming doesn't solve anything, yet they all did it, one after the other.

2005 Katya didn't shake while packing up her gun, didn't feel the sting in her chest when she ran out of the room, and didn't feel the amount of guilt that 2015 Katya felt. She was trapped into her old self that didn't feel anything, that had closed herself off after years of going through the worst days of her life. 

Her legs took her through the fancy hallways, feet silent on the ground. But slowly, the tiles made place for a ground she didn't recognize. Whatever this was, it wasn't one of her old missions. 

She looked up, but there was nothing. That was the best way to describe it. There was nothingness. No matter which direction she ran, whether she walked fast, slow, backwards or forwards, there was nothing. Just a dull dark grey. Desperation and panic set in, her breathing speeding up while her legs started burning, something that only happened after a half hour of running. 

Katya stopped, realizing this wasn't achieving anything. Or at least she thought she stopped because there was no way to know if she was actually moving with nothing to hold on to around her. 

''Hello?'' She called out, the sound echoing. ''Is anyone there?''

There was no answer, only more silence. The only thing she heard was her own heartbeat pumping in her ears, loud as a drum. 

Isolation. 

Loneliness.

Nobody coming to help. Suffering in silence without anyone caring. Losing everyone and everything she ever cared about. This was how that felt. 

Katya hung her head, trying her best not to cry. Everything the vision showed her was getting to her. Guilt, shame, self-hatred, loneliness, panic, it all hit at once, making her head spin.

Her knees could no longer support her body and she fell down on them, collapsing on the ground in a heap of despair. Tears fell down her cheeks, blurring her vision. She reached up to brush them away, sobbing so loud her whole body was trembling. What hit her cheek wasn't just her fingertips, it was the cold metal of a gun.

In her right hand was a gun, her hands covered in blood. Her tears weren't water, they were blood. When she looked past them, to the ground, more blood covered the floor. In fact, the liquid was slowly rising, starting at her knees and climbing up her thigh to her waist. 

Katya shook her head, trying to snap out of her trance and to stand up. Only, her legs were stuck. This wasn't normal blood, it was quicksand, slowly pulling her down into the depths of darkness.

A panic attack raised in her throat, taking her breath away for as far as she still had it. There was nothing she could do. She would drown in the blood of all the people she had killed. This was the most fitting end Katya could have ever imagined for her. It was a hoax, thinking she had ever become more than the killer she was trained to be. 

This was Katya Petrova. A ruthless killer. Killing others just to save her own life. There were no excuses for it. No way she could ever make up for it. 

It was in that moment she accepted it. Accepted this would be it for her. And she was weirdly at peace with it. All the will to live, everything she had to live for, it didn't matter anymore. She couldn't even think of a reason why she would struggle. Everyone was better off without her.

The red liquid reached her mouth, but Katya didn't gasp for air. In fact, she relaxed completely, closing her eyes and letting it wash over her. 

The blood filled her lungs but it didn't bother her because all she saw behind her eyelids were those green eyes. Those damn beautiful green eyes that were the light of her life. They had gotten her through the worst moments of her life, the worst years of her existence, but right now they did what they always did, give her that light feeling of happiness. 

And that was all she ever wanted to feel.


	57. An Important Question

Something tickled Katya's cheek and it wasn't the blood. This was something else. It came from somewhere else. 

She wanted it to go away. She just wanted to be left alone. But it didn't go away. Instead it got more present and annoying, impossible to ignore. It ruined Katya's relaxed state and didn't let her go back to it. Who or whatever was bothering her really wanted her to wake up.

Without a way to move, she was surrendered to the events happening outside her body. 

With a pull, like she was yanked out of a pool, the pressure on her body was gone. Her lungs were clear and oxygen filled her nose. She gasped for air, coughing and panting. Someone was talking to her but her ears were stuffed like the blood was still in them. 

The cold from the metal floor she was sitting on seeped through her thin suit, shocking her body back to reality.

Her mind however, was a completely different story. 

A hand on her shoulder startled Katya so much that she jumped backwards, only for her back to slam into the wall again. It was still sore from getting thrown into it before. ''не трогай меня,'' (Don't touch me) she hissed dangerously between breaths, protecting her face with her hand while the other supported her body.

A muffled voice managed to break through her ears. ''Katya, it's alright. It's Clint, you're safe.''

There was a salty taste in her mouth and Katya realized she was crying. At the moment though, she was way too disoriented and rattled to even care Clint saw her like this. He had seen her in worse states.

So much noise, so much thoughts swirling around that Katya couldn't find reality. She couldn't reach Clint. It was as if there was an invisible wall between her and the world. 

''Katya?'' Clint asked worried, but she was in no state to answer him. All she saw was the blood, the dropping bodies, the screams filling her ears. Wanda had shown her who she really was and it had hit like a truck.

''Well, that's not gonna happen. Not for a while. The whole team is down, you got no back up here,'' Clint spoke to someone Katya couldn't hear. 

She heard some shuffling next to her, but paid no attention to it. ''Katya, we have to go. Come on,'' Clint encouraged her. But Katya couldn't feel her feet, didn't know how to move her body. Her brain was completely out of service.

''I am sorry about this, but we really need to go.'' Clint grabbed her arm, hoisting it over his head around his neck, and dragged her to her feet. 

Katya struggled at first, trying to push him away. But the reality was she had no energy to protest. Her body felt heavy and empty.

Her dull eyes stared at the ground but didn't see anything. They didn't see the metal stairs or the yellow sand under her feet. They didn't see Tony landing in front of her, who stared at her with worried eyes.

''What happened?'' he asked Clint as the blonde man passed her to the billionaire.

''The witch happened.'' It was all he had to say. Tony was smart enough to figure out what Katya would have seen. He had seen the girl's work with his own eyes, knew what it felt like to not be in control of your body.

''Alright, let's go Petrova,'' Tony said cheerfully, slowly guiding her back towards the jet. He started rambling all kinds of random stuff that went in one ear and out the other. 

Bruce looked up at them as they entered the jet. He was one of the few people who was actually conscious. He was lucky Katya didn't see the pity on his face though, because she hated pity.

Steve didn't look up and neither did Thor. Their warped minds had them lost in their own world. 

Tony gently lowered Katya into a chair, and she curled herself into a ball instantly. With her chin on her knees, she stared into the distance, reliving the nightmares over and over again. When Natasha came in, supported by Clint, she didn't react. When Clint offered her a blanket and some water, she didn't react. When the jet landed after hours of flying, she just stared at the ground, waiting for someone to pick her up and guide her somewhere she also didn't want to be.

Katya threw another tantrum when someone touched her to pick her up. She had turned into a three-year-old child, yelling and screaming to stay away from her. Eventually they left her there, not knowing how to handle her. 

An hour passed until someone walked in, careful not to startle the blonde assassin curled up into a ball on the floor. She had crept into a corner, staring at the tall grass outside that slightly calmed her down. 

The figure crouched down in front of her, blocking her vision. ''Hey baby, do you want to come inside?'' Katya's favorite voice in the world asked sweetly. Normally, the butterflies in her stomach would have started to riot at the way she looked at her, but all Katya could see was teenage Natasha, staring up at her with terrified eyes, begging to help her. That gunshot echoed in her head and those green eyes that once calmed her down, filled her with dread now.

''Stay away from me.'' Katya's voice was hoarse from the screaming and crying, which made it sound more like a warning. Instead, it was meant as a way to keep Natasha safe, which meant away from her.

Hurt flashed behind Natasha's eyes, but she didn't show it on her face as she continued. ''Cooper and Lila are asking where you are. They want to play with their favorite aunty.''

Katya still didn't react, just stared at a spot next to Natasha's head. 

''Katy-''

Katya had had enough. Natasha's soft and gentle voice the complete opposite of what she felt she deserved. Her blue eyes finally snapped to Natasha's, filled with such anger that it startled the redhead. 

''I said stay away!'' Katya jumped to her feet with newfound energy, throwing her arms in the air. ''Can everybody leave me alone for one goddamn second? I will come inside when I want to. Now please go away!''

Natasha stood, keeping her distance from the angry blonde. ''All right. I'll be in the kitchen if you need me,'' she said softly. With that, she walked out of the jet. 

Katya waited for her to reach the house and close the door behind her. When she was sure nobody saw her, she ran out of the jet. Not towards the house, where the others were, but to the woods behind the jet. She ran, occasionally stumbling over the uneven ground, until she couldn't see the house behind her anymore. That was where she fell down on her knees, not unlike in her vision.

There she broke down, her loud sobs echoing between the trees. Only the animals were witnesses of her moment of weakness. Her outburst was a stark contrast in the silent woods and Katya was almost back in that grey nothingness. She screamed until her voice was completely gone and her throat hurt. She cried until no more tears came out. And she sat there on the damp ground until her chest was lighter and it felt easier to breathe. 

All the emotions had flowed out of her, carried away by the howling wind. The woods weren't lonely or isolating. As it started to grow darker and the sun disappeared behind the hills, she felt at peace and ready to face the others.

She grabbed a nearby tree for support, pulling herself to her feet. The knees of her suit were soggy and Katya was shivering, but that didn't matter. Dragging her body back to the field and house, she could even faintly smile at the sight of her second home. 

Softly, she opened the door and walked up the stairs to the bedroom. Natasha would be in the kitchen, but she wasn't ready to face her just yet. A shower would probably do her some good to wash everything off of her body.

But the second the steaming hot water hit her skin and dripped down her arms, it felt a lot like the blood she had drowned in. Panic set in and her breathing started to quicken. 

''Katya?'' an even more anxious voice asked. And before Katya could answer, Natasha had already stormed into the bathroom. 

When Natasha saw her girlfriend in that shower, gasping for air, she jumped in, turning off the shower. Her careful hands wrapped a big towel around her and dragged her out of the cabin. Katya sobbed into Natasha's chest on the bathroom floor, water dripping from her blonde hair on the white tiles.

Natasha ran her fingers through it, untangling the strands gently while whispering in her ear. Her own emotions didn't matter right now, no matter how much her own visions had hurt her. Katya was the priority.

''I am so sorry, so sorry,'' Katya whimpered and even though Natasha had no idea what she was talking about, she answered with her own words, whispering them softly.

''It is okay, baby. I'm here now. I'm here now.'' Her heart hurt and Natasha questioned if she had ever seen Katya in such a state. It frightened her, wondering if what the blonde had seen was much worse than her own visions. The redhead just held her tightly, ignoring how hard the floor was and how uncomfortable she was sitting. 

Katya's tears eventually dried out like they did in the woods but she didn't let go of her girlfriend because the way she held her so tightly put all her broken pieces back together. 

''I love you,'' Natasha muttered in her ear. 

Katya pulled back, looking at her hands as she breathed, ''You shouldn't.'' She couldn't get that image out of her head. Katya was dangerous to Natasha, would be the reason she would die. In order to protect her, Katya needed to push her away. However, Natasha didn't want to hear any of it.

Natasha put a finger under Katya's chin, tilting her head up so she could see her eyes. ''What do you mean I shouldn't?''

Katya raised her voice again, angry at herself. ''The only thing I'm good for is hurting people. Hurting you.''

Natasha shrugged casually, like Katya told her she had accidentally eaten the last piece of cake. ''I think I will take my chances.''

Katya got frustrated with how easily Natasha brushed it off. She wanted to be yelled at, for her to tell her she was right, that she didn't deserve her love. ''Natasha, I'm a monster. I've killed hundreds.''

''So what does that make me, huh?'' Natasha said in the same frustrating tone. She didn't want to hear any of this negative self-talk, knowing how much Katya hated it when she said that about herself. ''Did you forget I did exactly the same thing as you? Do you think I'm a monster?''

Katya shook her head without thinking about it. 

''Then why would you say that about yourself?''

''I just- I don't know, Nat,'' Katya threw her hands in the air, gesturing wildly. ''I saw everything. I don't know what to do,'' she whispered the last part. 

''Believe me, I know,'' Natasha gently captured her cheeks in her hands. ''But you forget that people love you, mistakes and all. If you can love me, you can love you.''

The love in her eyes was so evident that Katya's heart stopped and something clicked in her brain. Something that had never been in her head before but felt completely right. 

''Marry me,'' Katya spit out after a short silence. To hell with wanting to push her away. It wasn't going to succeed anyway. If she was going to cry in a corner every time life hurt her, she wouldn't get anywhere. She couldn't give into the fear.

Natasha froze, her eyes wide. ''What?''

Katya removed Natasha's hands from her cheeks and held them tightly in her own. There she was, on the cold bathroom floor in just a towel, her eyes red from her breakdown. It was the most fitting scene ever to do this, summing up their life. Looking for beautiful moments in shitty situations. 

''After all of this is over. Ultron, the twins. Marry me. Today has made it painfully clear that I don't want to live my life without you and that tomorrow is never promised. We don't have time. There isn't time to waste and I want to be yours completely and as much as I can. That is, if you want to of course.'' Katya chuckled at Natasha's stunned face. She had probably never caught her off guard as much as right now.

''Yes,'' Natasha breathed when she found her voice again. She tackled Katya to the ground, kissing her salty tears from her lips. Katya laughed in joy, the breakdown from earlier having made a 360.

''You should have asked me years ago,'' Natasha murmured against Katya's lips between kisses, making the blonde laugh. 

''Well I'm sorry I'm late ma'am. Will never happen again.''

''It better not.'' Natasha pulled back, her face hovering above Katya, their noses almost touching. When Katya saw the sheer happiness in the green, she knew it was the best choice of her life. Marrying Natasha was something she never thought she would have been able to do but here they were, nothing stopping them. 

''My beautiful fiancée,'' Natasha whispered, before diving in for more kisses from her blushing fiancée.


	58. Part Of Hell

''Nat?'' Clint's voice called out from the hallway. He knew better than to just barge into their room without knocking first. He learned that the hard way. ''Fury's here, he wants everyone downstairs.''

Natasha pulled away from Katya with a sigh, turning her head around to shout an answer. ''Be right there!''

Katya furrowed her brows after Natasha gave her one last kiss and stood, offering a helping hand. ''Nick? Which part of Hell did he crawl out off?''

Natasha snickered, walking back into the bedroom while Katya dried her hair. She pulled some clothes from the closest, some comfortable ones, and sat on the bed to look after the blonde. After the breakdown she just witnessed, she didn't just want to leave her alone.

Katya saw her waiting, staring at her with those concerned eyes. ''Nat, it's fine. Go. I'll meet you downstairs.''

The redhead rose from the bed, unsure whether she should follow up on that request. ''Are you sure?''

''Yes. Go.''

But Natasha still wasn't convinced. With her arms crossed, she leaned against the doorframe of the bathroom. ''What about the news, should we tell them?''

Katya looped her arms around the redheads neck, thinking about it for a moment. ''What do you want?''

A devilish look filled Natasha's eyes. ''I say we see how long it takes them to figure it out.''

Katya understood what she was hinting at and mirrored her smirk. ''You wanna make a bet?''

''Twenty bucks says it takes them at least a week.''

''Alright, you have a deal Romanoff.'' Katya sealed it with a quick peck on her lips.

''We should probably have a conversation about what to do with our last names.''

''Let's not get ahead of ourselves here,'' Katya chuckled. ''We need to kill this robot first.''

Natasha sighed and rolled her eyes. ''It's always something.'' With one last kiss, she left the room, softly closing the bedroom door behind her. 

Katya took a deep breath, staring at herself in the mirror. She looked absolutely horrible. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying and her voice was hoarse from screaming. A headache also plagued her from either the witch's magic or dehydration. The happiness from the proposal slowly faded away, leaving behind that same empty feeling she had felt since the mission.

It was better however. The gaping hole in her chest slightly closed by her happiness. The thing Katya was best at was faking things. Like the spy she was, forcing emotions and smiles came natural. She knew she didn't have to fake with the team, they had already seen her at her lowest, but for Laura and the children's sake, she would have to act fine.

Slowly, Katya counted to three, focusing all her energy on pushing that horrible feeling down. On one, she blocked the images from that dream. On two, she blocked all those bad emotions from her heart. On three, she was smiling, although it never quite reached her eyes.

Natasha and Clint would see right through her facade, but would also understand why she did it.

With steady hands, she reached for her hairbrush and started making herself look presentable. After all, two adorable kids were waiting for her downstairs.

''Where's Katya?'' Clint asked when Natasha walked into the kitchen. Like Katya, she had shoved everything down and was quite on edge herself because of her own vision.

''On her way,'' was her short answer. She didn't have to say anything else, the two being able to communicate without words.

''Romanoff,'' Fury greeted Natasha, who nodded her head in return. She grabbed all the things needed for a sandwich, since dinner had already turned cold and Katya needed something to eat.

She wanted to scream from the rooftops she was going to get married, but also knew his wasn't the right moment. At all.

Steve stood next to her, abandoning his conversation with Laura. ''How is she?''

Something in his voice, the worry or pity, was too much for Natasha.

''What do you think, Steve?'' She snapped, drawing everyone's attention to her. She just wished everyone would leave her alone. ''You saw yourself what that Maximoff does. How do you think she is?''

Steve's shocked eyes turned into shame. ''I'm sorry, you're right-''

''No, I'm sorry,'' she cut him off. She dropped the knife from her hand and ran her fingers through her hair, frustrated she couldn't do more to help her fiancée and was now also snapping at her teammates. ''I'm just tired, that's all.''

''Aunty Kat!'' Lila jumped up from the floor when Katya walked in, deserting her drawing on the coffee table.

Katya was just in time to catch her, smiling brightly at the little girl. ''Hi beautiful! Oh you've grown so big!''

All eyes were on them, but Katya didn't care in the moment. She didn't care about everything she had done to embarrass herself previously. Not while holding this adorable little girl in her arms.

''I missed you,'' Lila whispered in her ear. 

Katya almost cried, knowing how much she disappointed the kids by not visiting more often and now that she was here, she didn't have the energy to play with them.

''I missed you too, honey.''

Lila pulled her head back so she could look at Katya's face. ''Dad said you didn't feel so good. Did something happen?''

Katya wanted to strangle Clint for making his little girl worry about her. Lila shouldn't worry about things she didn't understand. ''I'm fine, Lila. Nothing for you to worry about.'' She felt the disapproving stare from Natasha for lying to the child, but she ignored it. ''Now why don't you show me what you've been working on.''

Lila nodded enthusiastically, pulling Katya to the table by her wrist as soon as she had put her down. The girl held up the drawing, which was obviously of a pig. A little pink pig with a pool of mud underneath her.

Katya looked at it as if she tried to figure out what it was, playing dumb with the girl. ''Is it... a cow?''

Lila giggled loudly, shaking her head swiftly. ''No.''

''A dog?''

Lila giggled louder, climbing on Katya's lap as she sat on the couch, pushing the drawing into her face. ''No silly! It is a pig!''

''Oh! Now I see it!''

The rest of the team witnessed the scene with smiles on their mouths because of how cute it was. Behind their backs though, Natasha and Clint shared a worried look. Katya may be acting fine, but they knew which technique she had used for that. It would be harmful to her in the long run so they had to keep a close eye on her.

''Hey, do you remember that word I taught you last time I was here? Did you practice?'' Lila had been begging Katya to teach her Russian for months and last time she was here, she had taught her one word, telling the girl if she could pronounce that one correctly, she would teach her more.

Lila perked up, her big eyes snapping to Katya's. ''I remember!''

Katya smiled. ''Alright, let's hear it.''

Lila thought for a moment, her eyebrows scrunching together in concentration. ''цветок,'' she finally spat out, her pronunciation almost perfect.

'Flower' was what Katya called Lila from time to time so that was the first word she wanted to learn.

''Good job,'' Katya praised the girl, who smiled at her dad proudly. ''Guess I'll have to keep up my end of the bargain and teach you more now, huh?''

Lila practically jumped up and down on Katya's lap. ''Yes! Can you teach me now?''

Katya laughed, shaking her head. ''I'm sorry Lil, but I need to have a talk with the grown-ups now.'' She lowered her voice, whispering in the girl's ear. ''But why don't you draw something for Nat, I think she'll like that.''

Lila nodded enthusiastically, climbing off Katya's lap and grabbing an empty piece of paper. Katya watched her for a second, dreading the conversation ahead.

She caught Laura's gaze, who sat opposite her. The brunette woman gave her an encouraging smile, nodding her head to the team, telling her to go ahead. 

Katya smiled at her gratefully, hoisting herself up from the couch with heavy legs. Avoiding eye contact with anyone, she took place in the chair next to Nat who pushed a plate with a sandwich in front of her. 

Katya patted her thigh in thanks and although she wasn't really hungry, dove into the sandwich anyway, knowing she needed something to eat. It went slow and she had to flush every bite down with some water but at least she was eating. It didn't do anything to fill the hole in her chest though.

The team had already started talking about Ultron and she just listened to it. Natasha glanced over at her from time to time, slowly dragging her fingertips up and down the blonde's back for comfort.

''Ultron took you folks out of play to buy himself time,'' Fury said. He didn't look that much different from the last time Katya had seen him, but it felt different. He was no longer the director of SHIELD so the power relations were different. ''My contacts all say he's building something. The amount of Vibranium he made off with, I don't think it's just one thing.''

Lila tapped Natasha on her shoulder, distracting her from the conversation. A drawing of a butterfly got placed on the table in front of her.

Natasha pinched the girls cheeks playfully, smiling at her and thanking her for the drawing. 

Lila took off after that, following her mother up the stairs who was bringing the children to bed.

Katya stared at the butterfly on the paper, not bothering to look up to follow the conversation. 

''What about Ultron himself?'' Steve asked. Katya didn't know whose minds had been messed with, but there was some hidden pain in his eyes that betrayed he had seen something too. The same pain that was visible behind her own eyes.

''Ah. He's easy to track, he's everywhere. Guy's multiplying faster than a Catholic rabbit.'' Normally, Katya would have appreciated the joke and chuckled. Now, she stayed silent. ''Still doesn't help us get an angle on any of his plans though.''

''He still going after launch codes?'' Tony was throwing darts on the board behind Katya and every time a dart hit the board, she jumped a little. She was so on edge that every little sound had her panicking.

Fury was making his own sandwich, carefully cutting some tomatoes. ''Yes, he is, but he's not making any headway.''

Tony scoffed. ''I cracked the Pentagon's firewall in high school on a dare.'' Another dart hit the board with a thud.

Katya thought back to the time she broke into the Pentagon, but that was a whole different story. It definitely wasn't by hacking in. 

''Yeah, well, I contacted our friends at the NEXUS about that.''

''NEXUS?'' Steve asked confused. Like Katya, he knew nothing about computers. But at least she knew what the NEXUS was. 

Bruce stepped in, explaining it to Cap. ''It's the world internet hub in Oslo, every byte of data flows through there, fastest access on earth.''

It wasn't clear whether Steve understood it now, but he wasn't dumb so he probably understood at least half that sentence. The man leaned to the doorframe across from Katya, which meant he had a good view of her, which made her very uneasy in return. She wished he would move away or sit down at the table, not stand there towering over her.

''So what'd they say?'' Clint chimed in. He was twirling his own dart around in his hand, probably up to something.

''He's fixated on the missiles, but the codes are constantly being changed,'' Fury explained. 

The codes were being changed? Who would do that and who was powerful enough to go against an AI like Ultron. And why were they helping?

Tony stood next to the dartboard, just as confused as Katya was. ''By whom?''

Clint threw three darts into the board at the same time, causing Katya to jump again. Natasha threw him a glare with a shake of her head, telling him to stop doing that for the blonde's sake.

Fury eyed the situation warily. He couldn't begin to imagine what the team must have gone through to turn his best agents into almost mindless zombies. ''Parties unknown.''

Natasha kept dragging her fingers up and down Katya's back mindlessly, something everyone saw but didn't care about. ''Do we have an ally?''

Fury shook his head. ''Ultron's got an enemy, that's not the same thing. Still, I'd pay folding money to know who it is.''

Tony lowered his head. ''I might need to visit Oslo, find our "unknown''." It would mean losing him for at least half a day, which sucked because they needed his suit against Ultron.

Natasha took a deep breath, disappointed with the lack of information they really had right now. ''Well, this is good times, boss, but I was kind of hoping when I saw you, you'd have more than that.''

She was right, Katya realized. Fury was here and was telling them about the launch codes, but that was it. No telling them what to do or helping them figure out where Ultron was. He stood here in the kitchen but he didn't bring much with him.

''I do, I have you.'' 

That statement was so ridiculous that it made Katya scoff, the first thing she had said or done since the conversation started. 

Everyone turned to her, surprised she had unfrozen for a moment. Even Natasha's hand on her back faltered for a second. 

Katya raised an unimpressed eyebrow to Fury. ''Sorry to say, boss, but you don't have much with us.''

''That's not true. Back in the day, I had eyes everywhere, ears everywhere else. You kids had all the tech you could dream up. Here we all are, back on earth, with nothing but our wit, and our will to save the world.''

Katya didn't look at him as he walked closer, seemingly only talking to her to prove she was wrong about herself.

''Ultron says the Avengers are the only thing between him and his mission. And whether or not he admits it, his mission is global destruction. All this,'' Fury gestured around the kitchen, ''laid in a grave. So stand. Outwit the platinum bastard.''

He sat down in a chair at the end of the table, on Katya's left. His gaze was on her but she ignored it. Fury didn't need to see the trauma behind her eyes.

''Steve doesn't like that kind of talk.'' Natasha smiled at Cap mischievously and Katya could feel her own mouth twitch.

Steve almost rolled his eyes, glaring at her playfully. ''You know what, Romanoff?''

''So what does he want?'' Fury interrupted their joking, turning back to the more serious topic of Ultron. 

There was a silence when no one knew how to answer that question. Problem was they didn't know what he wanted beside the Avengers' termination. But how was he going to do that?

''To become better,'' Steve finally spoke up. ''Better than us. He keeps building bodies.''

''Person bodies,'' Tony corrected him. ''The human form is inefficient, biologically speaking, we're outmoded. But he keeps coming back to it.''

From the corner of your eye, you saw Banner shuffle closer to the dining table, looking at Lila's drawing of a yellow butterfly.

Natasha eyed him before turning back to the others, although she was addressing only Tony and Bruce. ''When you two programmed him to protect the human race, you amazingly failed.''

''They don't need to be protected,'' Banner suddenly concluded. Something he had seen in the drawing had given him the clue he needed, ''they need to evolve. Ultron's going to evolve.''

Fury lowered his drink, not sure on how to understand Banner's statement. ''How?''

''Has anyone been in contact with Helen Cho?''

Dread flooded everyone's features. Helen was able to build entire bodies from nothing and with the Vibranium Ultron took from Africa, it would be one of the strongest and most powerful bodies ever. They needed to get there before he could mind control Cho with the scepter and force her to do it for him.

''All right everyone, suit up,'' Steve ordered. ''Nat, Clint, you're with me to Korea. Stark, get to Oslo, see if you can identify our third party. Banner, go with Fury back to the tower, see what you can find out from there. Katya, you're going with them.''

''No.'' Her voice was quiet but everyone heard it.

Steve blinked in surprise. ''Sorry?'' 

Katya rarely went against the Captain's orders so it came as a surprise when she spoke up.

She abruptly stood from the chair, the wooden legs scraping over the floor loudly. ''I said no. I'm not going to stand on the sidelines like some helpless, wounded animal. You need every last body in this fight so I'm going with you, whether you want to or not.''

It was a good thing the kids were already in bed. She wouldn't have wanted them to see her like this.

Steve shook his head, that worried crease returning between his eyebrows. Katya hated when he looked at her like that. ''You're not ready, Katya. What you saw-''

She quickly cut him off before he could continue. ''I can handle it. I don't need a babysitter.''

The words were venomous and spoken to Steve directly, but they were also meant for everyone else. Katya didn't want their pity let alone have people tiptoe around her. 

What she did want was sleep, but she wasn't even sure if she would be able to fall asleep. Nightmares would plague her for the next few weeks for sure, so maybe it was a good thing they were already leaving Clint's house. She had scared the kids enough with screams and cries in the night, they didn't need to hear more of it.

Steve was so surprised by her outburst he didn't know what to say. And since nobody else said anything either, Katya took off to put her suit on again.

Ignoring the fear in her stomach at the sight of the black and green outfit, she slipped it on and checked her weapons. She would need new magazines but luckily she had her own locker on the jet with some weapons and extras. 

Tony and Steve were talking at the bottom of the staircase when she walked down. They saw her and stopped their conversation, but she just pushed past them to the front door. 

It was impolite to leave without saying goodbye to Laura. Katya would call the woman later when she was back to her old self. There was just too much tension and anxiety built up inside her to have a normal conversation with anyone right now. 

Outside it was deadly quiet. The wind blew through the tall grass and made a comforting noise as Katya walked through it. She could think better outside, under the darkening sky. The sun was slowly disappearing under the horizon, leaving behind the smallest streaks of orange in the otherwise dark blue sky.

The Quinjet was parked not too far from the house and it was tempting to walk to other way, back into the woods or to the dirt road leading up to the house. To follow that until she reached the city. To not having to deal with all of it. 

However, once again, the world was counting on her and needed her to protect it. That duty was a straw she kept holding on to. A red thread running through her life that gave her the footing she needed right now. Fighting was what she was best at. It cleared her head and blocked everything else out. 

So if that was what it took to get the memories out of her head, she was ready.


	59. Yelling At The Universe

Katya's knee bounced up and down uncontrollably. Never had she been more nervous for a mission. Well, maybe except her first mission for HYDRA ever. Back then, it was important not to screw up to prevent your leaders from killing you. Right now, it was important not to screw up to prevent being murdered by a robot.

Death had been tied to her all her life. It was always there, one step behind her. Stumble and death would come closer and closer. Stop all together and death would catch up with her, consuming her completely. 

All her life, she believed she had been fighting to stay alive, but that wasn't true. She had been fighting to stay ahead of death. But nobody could run forever.

The twirling knife she hadn't used for months had come out of storage again. It was a clear sign she was struggling and needed something to calm her down. 

Her blue eyes stared at it as it hit her palm over and over again. It was calming, but only to a certain amount. The bouncing of her knee never stopped.

Neither Steve, Natasha or Clint tried talking to her. They all saw she needed her space and would come to them if she was ready. Which happened about halfway through the flight to Korea. Steve hadn't tried taking Katya out of joining the mission again, although he wasn't happy about it.

''Nat?'' Katya spoke over the noise of the jet, breaking the comfortable silence that had settled inside.

Natasha was sitting next to Clint who was flying them there. They hadn't said much to each other besides the usual small talk. Neither of them felt the need to fill the silence. 

Upon hearing her fiancée's voice, Natasha turned around in her seat and looked at her questioningly.

''Can you come over here?'' Katya felt like a child but it didn't bother Natasha.

The Russian looked at Clint, silently asking him if he was good piloting on his own for a while. He nodded, gesturing for her to go.

Steve looked up from his tablet momentarily when Natasha stood up and walked over to Katya. However as soon as they started talking, he focused back on the device. This conversation wasn't meant for his ears.

Katya glanced at Natasha when she sat next to her, her green eyes waiting patiently to hear what she had to say. 

''I have been so busy with myself that I haven't even asked if you are okay,'' Katya admitted. Her own traumas had been keeping her mind so distracted she didn't even think about Natasha's vision and what she must have seen. Honestly she felt like a horrible fiancée. 

Natasha gave her a reassuring smile. ''I'm fine, Kat. I really don't want to think about it.'' Truth was, she felt horrible too, but Katya was already dealing with enough. The last thing she needed was Natasha's traumas on top of hers. 

Katya dropped her gaze to her restless hands. ''Yeah me neither,'' she confessed. 

Natasha grabbed her fiddling hands and Katya took a deep breath. 

''So how about we forget for now, focus on the mission, and we can talk about it when we get back home?'' Natasha proposed, smiling encouragingly. 

Katya nodded and Natasha knew this was the end of the topic. It also wasn't ideal talking about this with Steve and Clint being able to hear everything they said. They preferred to do these things in private.

''So are you up for this mission?'' Natasha asked after a minute, leaning back against the wall. 

Katya sighed, running her hands over her face. ''Probably not, but I'm ready to kick some ass. Preferably Ultron's.''

Hope flamed up in Natasha's chest at Katya's semi-joke. It meant she was still in there. ''Yeah, me too,'' she laid a hand on Katya's back. ''Let's hope we're not too late.''

''Let's hope,'' Katya agreed. ''Imagine what he could do with a Vibranium body.''

Natasha shook her head. ''I'd rather not. I'd be happy if we all get out of this alive.''

Katya threw her a glare, leaning back too. ''Don't say stuff like that. We're going to be fine.''

''We are,'' the redhead agreed, before adding softly, ''We have to be.''

The jet turned silent again after that. Everyone was lost into their own world, preparing for the fight in their own way. Katya was still restless, her knee wouldn't stop bouncing, but she was ready. Ready to do something instead of hide and wait. 

A half hour before arriving in Seoul, Steve explained the mission. He would go into Cho's lab to see if Ultron was there or had already left, taking Katya with him in case she needed to translate. The others would stay in the Quinjet first and depending on whether the Captain found Ultron, Clint would circle over the city to try and find him.

Natasha took extra long to remind Katya to stay safe and come back alive. After what happened last time, she had a harder time letting her out of her sight.

Katya reassured her it would be fine, but the gnawing feeling in her stomach bothered her insanely. She had taken Natasha for granted. Had taken for granted both of them always came home safe. That fear of losing her had gradually subsided over the years but now it hit her twice as hard.

Clint hoovered the Quinjet over the roof of a high building and with one last look at the redhead, Katya followed Steve out. 

The wind hit her hard. At such a height it pulled at her body and pushed her from left to right. Keeping close to the Captain, they made it to the edge of the roof. In the distance, Doctor Cho's lab emerged. It was a fancy white building standing in the middle of a lake, not unlike the Triskelion once did.

''Two minutes. Stay close,'' Steve said to Clint and Natasha. 

Katya could feel their eyes on her from above as she jumped from roof to roof and eventually climbed down a fire escalator to the street. 

Steve was a lot faster but Katya didn't complain and appreciated how he slowed his pace from time to time and kept a close eye on her to make sure she could follow his path. 

The second Steve pushed the front door of the building open, Katya knew it was bad. After so many years of killing and seeing death, she had developed a sense for it. Death had a certain feel, a smell, to it. A room got a little bit colder, caused by a lack of energy.

She hung her head when Steve located the first body. The receptionist, a young woman, lay with her head down on her desk, her hair covering her face.

Steve reached up to tap his earpiece. ''Guys. He's already here.''

Katya forced the nauseous feeling down and pushed past Steve to look for more victims. She didn't have to go far. Dead bodies had never bothered her, not for a long time. But now she felt able to puke. 

Wanda's vision had knocked some common sense into her. All the death she saw every day wasn't normal. What she did wasn't something one person should have to deal with. 

Every death suddenly felt like a hundred, something else to add to her growing list of people she wasn't able to save.

A hand on her shoulder startled her and shocked her back to reality. ''Hey, you okay?''

Katya was confused why Steve would ask that, until she realized she was almost gasping for air with her hands on her knees as if she had ran a marathon.

Quickly she straightened up, calming her speeding heart by taking deep breaths. ''I'm fine. Let's just keep going.''

Steve nodded, leading to the stairs. 

Katya kept her eyes on his back so she didn't have to see the dead people around her. The shaking of her hands she suppressed by taking her gun out. So far they hadn't ran into Ultron or his minions yet, but she felt a lot safer with it in her hands ready to go.

It was way too silent in the stairwell. A kind of silence where you expect something to explode every second. Only Katya was sure they wouldn't find anything alive in this building to cause that.

Steve jogged through the hallways, finally arriving in Cho's lab. Sparks flew from the ceiling and lights were flickering. Things had fallen over and holes were in walls where they shouldn't be. 

Katya expected the worst, that Helen would be long gone and they were once again too late. But Steve suddenly diverted from his path and crouched down next to the woman.

''Doctor Cho!'' He called out, trying to get her to wake up. She was slumped against a machine, a nasty dark bloodstain covering the whole right side of her chest.

Katya quickly handed him a cloth from one of the racks, which he pressed against her wound tightly. 

Helen had enough strength left to push herself up, breathing just as heavy as Katya had done previously. ''He's uploading himself into the body,'' she managed to say, eyes trying to focus on the two people in front of her but they were hazy and shooting back and forth.

Dread settled in Katya's stomach. They were already too late. Ultron was uploading himself into the super strong new body Cho had built for him and if they didn't stop him soon, it would be almost impossible to stop him.

''Where?'' Steve hastily asked. Helen shook her head no. She had no idea where he went. 

Steve went to leave but Helen stopped him with a hand on his arm. ''The real power is inside the Cradle. The gem, its power is uncontainable. You can't just blow it up. You have to get the Cradle to Stark,'' she pressed. 

Katya saw the fear in her eyes when she was talking about the stone. Something Helen had seen had her both amazed and scared for her life. 

She herself had never heard of any stone and wondered how Ultron had gotten his hands on it. What kind of stone held such power?

Steve took in her answer. Disappointed he couldn't order Clint to shoot it to bits. This mission would require precision. ''First I have to find it.''

Helen nodded. ''Go.''

Steve stood, looking down at Katya who had taken over his task of putting pressure on Helen's wound. 

''Katya, stay with her in case Ultron comes back to finish the job. Clint will come pick you up.''

She wanted to protest and say she wanted to fight, but Steve had already ran out. She bit on her tongue to suppress her groan. Helen didn't deserve to feel like a reliability just because Katya had a need for revenge.

However, Helen was an excellent people-reader and saw on her face it bothered her. ''I'm sorry you're stuck with me. I know you want to fight.''

''It's fine, Helen,'' Katya cut her off. She knew the others could hear everything they were saying through her earpiece and really didn't want them to hear this. Luckily, Helen was smart and switched to Korean for the next question.

''여자 였지?'' (It was the girl, wasn't it?)

''I don't want to talk about it,'' Katya snapped at her. Being mean wasn't like her, but her patience was running thin. People needed to stop asking questions and let her be.

Helen dropped her eyes to the floor. ''I'm sorry. I don't mean to pry,'' she apologized.

''Then don't.''

Helen watched Katya's face, the pain behind her eyes. ''I have seen a lot of broken people in my job, Katya. You're not one of them.''

Katya shook her head, keeping her gaze on her hands and not Helen's face. ''네가 틀렸어.'' (You're wrong.) 

A tense silence followed the tense conversation. The wound ultimately stopped bleeding and Helen asked Katya to get her some stuff from the lab so she could fix herself for now. She would need a proper hospital but they had to wait for Clint to come pick them up, so this would do for now.

Right when Katya was holding a gauze to the doctor's shoulder, light footsteps to her right distracted her. She shot to her feet and had her gun out, aimed at the girl's face before she could say anything.

''Give me one damn good reason why I shouldn't pull the trigger right here and now.''

Her hand was shaking slightly but she hoped they didn't see.

Clint heard the venom in her voice over the comms. ''Katya? Who are you talking to?''

The woman narrowed her eyes at the enhanced twins, both much more insecure and shy than last time she saw then. ''I'm dealing with some unwanted guests.''

''You okay?'' Natasha shouted over the wind, worried Katya had to deal with the twins on her own. She was on a motorcycle racing through the city, narrowly avoiding cars and trucks. 

Katya wanted to answer she was fine, but the boy moved to take a step towards her, putting her even more on edge. Katya quickly aimed her gun at him. ''Don't. Move. If I see only one muscle move or streak of red in the air, next bullet goes in your sister's head.'' 

She had played the right card because the boy's face paled and he froze in place. If he wanted to, he could probably take the gun out of her hand before she saw him move, but he didn't want to risk his sister's life on it.

''You have some nerve, showing up here. You want to mess with my head some more?'' Katya hissed at Wanda, but the girl looked distraught instead of angry. Something had changed.

''I'm sorry about that,'' Wanda muttered at the ground. ''I don't like doing those things.''

Katya scoffed, gripping the gun a little tighter. She was still convinced this was some sort of trick. ''Could've fooled me.''

The conversation was taking way too long for her liking so she impatiently took a step closer to the twins. ''Still waiting for that reason.''

Wanda looked into her eyes. ''I looked in Ultron's head. He's planning to end the human race, end the world.''

Katya narrowed her eyes, shaking her head. ''Already know that. Keep talking.''

The boy gestured with his hands and her gun was trained on him again. ''Look, we just want to help,'' he explained. ''We wanted to destroy the Avengers, not humanity. My sister and I,'' he looked at her, ''we can fight him better than you can.''

Katya studied them both thoroughly. They weren't lying, but she couldn't be too careful. It was hard to imagine they had switched sides so easily. 

Wanda saw her hesitate and added with a heavy accent, ''You're not the only one who has made mistakes.''

That was the wrong thing to say. It only made Katya more angry. ''I didn't have a choice and you know it,'' she hissed between clenched teeth. ''You did and you chose wrong.''

Pietro didn't like his sister being yelled at and defended her with a calm voice. ''I know. But like you, we're trying to fix that mistake. Please let us.''

Katya examined her options.

She could either try and kill both of them, which would likely result in her being knocked out by Pietro before she could pull the trigger. Or she could sent them after Ultron, into the city, away from her. 

However much she hated to admit it, Pietro was right earlier. The twins were the best competition for Ultron and the team could really use their help. 

With a sigh, Katya gave in, although her gun stayed on them. ''Fine. Steve's in the city fighting Ultron, go help him and I'll think about it.''

''Thank you,'' Pietro smiled. And with a woosh he was gone, taking his sister with him.

Katya watched the empty spot they had been standing a second ago, trying to put the lid back on her emotions. Seeing them had shaken her up more than she thought and her hand still shook as she holstered her gun. 

''You have a good heart,'' Helen spoke from behind Katya.

Katya sighed, turning around to the Korean woman. She had heard the whole thing together with the others on comms.

''I have a forgiving heart and it's gonna come back to haunt me some day,'' Katya said, crouching down by the woman again to check her shoulder. ''Steve you got all that? Twins will be there to help you.''

''Got it!'' He grunted. 

Katya had lost an overview of where everyone was exactly. It bothered her greatly. 

''Clint, can you draw out the guards?'' Natasha asked in her ear as Katya helped doctor Cho up. They needed to get out of the building for Clint to pick them up.

''Let's find out,'' Clint answered her quickly, gunfire following his words.

''Beep beep!'' 

Katya couldn't stop the laugh escaping her. It was such a weird interruption from the tension and excitement. ''Did you just say ''Beep beep''?'' Katya laughed. 

Cho looked at her weirdly, stumbling next to the blonde while leaning heavily on her. Katya shook her head at her, focused herself on not tripping over the rubble on the ground. 

Despite that Katya couldn't see it, Natasha smiled. ''Shut up. I'm trying not to hit any pedestrians.''

Katya chuckled, imagining Natasha weaving in and out of traffic on her electric motorcycle. Without a helmet, something they had had enough discussions over. ''Can't believe I'm missing you on a motorcycle.''

''Better luck next time,'' Natasha teased her. 

Katya and Helen stumbled off the stairs. There was also an elevator but it was not wise to use it now. Would be embarrassing if she got stuck in an elevator while the others were fighting Ultron. She would never hear the end of it.

Helen grunted when they made it to the ground floor and she stepped on the floor a little too harsh. 

''Will that be okay?'' Katya asked her worried, looking at the woman's shoulders.

Helen nodded. ''That machine back at the Tower would be very convenient right now,'' she tried to joke, but her face scrunched up in pain when she spoke. 

''Clint will come pick us up and rush you back there. Hold on for now.'' Katya tried keeping Cho's gaze on her, knowing they would reach the lobby soon where a lot of dead bodies were waiting for them. 

''Don't worry about me. Ultron is the real threat here.''

Katya nodded once, pushing the outside door open. A wave of fresh air hit her face and she made sure to inhale deeply. Immediately, she felt a lot better. ''Clint. Helen and I are outside. North side of the building.''

''One moment Kat, little busy,'' he quickly replied. His voice was strained and there was a lot of background noise. 

Katya looked up, trying to locate the Quinjet. She didn't have to look too far. Clint was spinning the jet around rapidly. Why, she couldn't see, but when he said something to Nat, it became clear.

''Heading back towards you. So whatever you're going to do, do it now.'' 

Some of Ultron's robot buddies abandoned the jet and headed back towards the cradle. Their tiny figures almost looked like birds from this distance. Robot birds. Murder birds.

''I'm going in,'' Natasha answered, causing anxiety to spike in Katya. ''Cap can you keep him occupied?''

Katya silently begged for Natasha to be careful. She felt so hopeless, watching from a distance, but also knew there wasn't much else she could have done. Steve got Ultron handled and Natasha was taking care of the cradle. If saving one life was her score today, Katya was satisfied.

''Okay, package is airborne. I have a clean shot,'' Clint spoke. And indeed Katya could see the truck with the cradle flying through the air, the Quinjet on its tail.

But didn't Clint listen to a thing Doctor Cho told Steve? They couldn't shoot the cradle. The stone could level the city and maybe more than that. 

Katya was about to tell him that when Natasha interrupted him. 

''Negative. I am still in the truck.''

''Jesus Christ Nat, what are you still doing in there?'' Katya asked at the same time Clint asked, ''What the hell are you...?''

Katya didn't take her eyes off of the truck and wished she could do more. Wished she could help keep Natasha safe.

Natasha didn't want to hear any of their worries, interrupting them quickly. ''Just be ready, I'm sending the package to you.''

''How do you want me to take it?'' Clint shifted in his seat, preparing to catch the cradle Natasha was about to send over to him.

''Uhh, you might wish you hadn't asked that.''

Katya groaned and slowly lowered Helen to the ground, feeling the woman starting to swing side to side lightly. ''Keep your eyes closed, it will help with the nausea,'' Katya muttered to her, quickly turning back to the city.

''I lost him! He's headed your way,'' Steve alerted. By this point, Katya was pacing back and forth, her hands shaking in frustration. 

Ultron would come for the cradle, where her fiancée was standing right next to. 

''Nat, we gotta go,'' Clint alerted Natasha of the same thing. 

Katya held her breath when Natasha pushed the cradle out of the truck mid-air, flying over to the Quinjet. She had no doubts Clint would catch it but she prayed Ultron didn't mess things up. When the cradle disappeared into the back of the jet, Katya exhaled in relief. 

That was short-lived however.

Ultron grabbed Natasha and pulled her with him.

''Nat!'' Clint yelled. Katya wished she could say or do anything. Instead she was frozen in place, not believing this was happening to her again. ''Cap, you see Nat?''

''If you have the package, get Katya and Helen and get it to Stark! Go!''

But Clint wasn't letting his best friend go so easily. ''Do you have eyes on Nat?'' he pressed, worried out of his mind.

''Go!'' Steve repeated.

Katya held herself back because Helen was watching her closely, but what she wanted to do was scream at the universe. Why was it always the two of them getting ripped apart. Not that she wished it on anyone else but the world didn't make it easy for them.

She really believed this would be the end. Ultron would kill her. He would. She had seen it after all. He didn't give a damn about human life and Natasha would be a perfect opportunity to taunt the team but Katya specifically. 

Today was the day she was going to lose her best friend, her girlfriend, her fiancée, the person she loved more than anyone or anything in this world and universe. 

Helen watched her shake and tremble. A volcano ready to burst and crumble apart. The look in Katya's eyes scared her. It was a dangerous one, for others and for herself. Katya cared so deeply about Natasha she would do whatever it took to get her back, even if that meant putting her own life on the line. That had become very clear in her vision. 

It was the others Helen worried about. Katya would forget all about her intentions to become better and slaughter a whole room full of people if that was what it took. Personal cost didn't matter as long as she achieved what she wanted. And nobody was more dangerous than someone who was willing to sacrifice everything.


	60. More Weird Things

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy new year! Let's hope 2021 will be better than last year. Remember to stay safe, drink water and take care of yourself :)

Clint didn't say anything in the Quinjet on the way home. Mostly because he knew starting a conversation with Katya would be a bad idea. From his pilot seat, he kept scanning the air for any sign of danger in case Ultron would come for the cradle again. 

The only danger that could come to him however was inside the jet, in the form of a furious and anxiety-filled blonde woman. She kept her hand on the gun tied around her leg, ready to pull it out at any time, making her feel a little more in control. It was a good thing Katya could multi-task because there were a lot of things going through her head. 

Her boots had worn a path into the floor, walking back and forth impatiently. She didn't even have the patience for her twirling knife. The bubble in her chest was ready to burst. She needed to yell at somebody, anybody. But Clint hadn't given her a reason to yet.

There was a scan running for any sign of Natasha. The second her face popped up on a CCTV camera or in the background of someone's cellphone video, an alarm would go off. There was nothing more Katya could do to find her. Surrendering to technology sucked and only made her feel more helpless.

The tension kept building inside her body and her footsteps kept getting faster until finally she couldn't take it anymore. ''If we don't land really soon, I'm going to kill the next person I see,'' Katya grumbled, afraid to speak louder and risk losing control.

''But, that's me,'' Clint said horrified. 

Katya stopped dead in her tracks for the first time in hours, throwing a deadly glare at the back of his head for speaking back to her. ''Exactly, so step on it.'' Her voice was filled with poison and although Clint knew this was the anxiety talking, he did whatever he could to fly faster.

The cradle in the middle of the jet was what Katya kept her eyes on most of the time. It was unsettling knowing a deadly body sat inside. Built to kill better than her. Built to crush bones with a simple squeeze of its fist. 

Part of her wanted to shoot it to parts, blow holes in the machine until it was on fire and sparks flew off. However, there was no telling what would happen if she did. It could be worse.

The image of Ultron pulling Natasha out of the jet and taking off with her, kept playing behind her eyelids. Every time she blinked, she was back in front of Cho's lab, staring up at the bright sky to see the most important person in her life get abducted by a murder robot. 

It would be a miracle if she was still alive. A miracle she would ever get her back.

Bruce and Tony were back at the Tower, waiting for the Quinjet to get the cradle out, and were rudely pushed aside by Katya when they walked in with pity-filled frowns on their faces, opening their mouths to say sorry. The woman stormed out of the claustrophobic vehicle and didn't even bother to change.

Instead, she stormed right down to the room underneath the lab where more of Tony's expensive equipment stood. Katya wasn't the best at computers but did know how to work most things. 

Above her head, through the glass ceiling, the others were walking around the cradle. Their footsteps almost soundless and their words were even more unintelligible. 

Of course Stark had made everything soundproof. 

It wasn't long before Clint joined her downstairs and searched the room for a specific machine. Katya didn't pay much attention to him until he dropped an old school radio on her desk. She looked up, meeting his emotionless smile. ''Old school style,'' he tried to joke.

Katya nodded, understanding what he meant to say, and offered her seat to him. Quickly, he plugged in cables and shifted through different frequencies, hoping to find any sign of life from Natasha. 

With Katya out of a job again, she found herself pacing, again. She bit her already non-existing nails so heavily they started bleeding and her body suddenly got really hot in her suit. Sweat tickled down her spine and the nausea had never settled down to begin with. Her whole body trembled as if she had caught the flu.

Clint spared her some glances every now and then, shaking his head in worry. Never had he seen two people who cared more about each other than those two. It amazed him every single day.

The shadows of Banner and Stark fell on the ground below Katya's feet, the silent static from the radio filled the room. It was earie silent as both agents prayed for any sign of life. 

A low tone interrupted the static for only a millisecond, but it stopped Katya in her tracks and Clint's breathing. More short and long interruptions followed, clearly creating a pattern.

A smile broke through Clint's concentrated exterior and even Katya found herself smiling. She rushed towards the desk, watching the computer as Clint typed in the coordinates. 

It was the same base they had raided a little over a week ago. The HYDRA base in Sokovia. 

Clint wrote the coordinates down, shaking his head while smiling proudly. ''Told you she would come through,'' he said to Katya. ''You should give your girlfriend more credit from time to time.''

''Fiancée.'' 

It was out before she knew it, but didn't regret saying it. Not after the face he made as a result of it.

Clint snapped his head up, mouth slightly agape. ''I'm sorry, what?!''

Katya shrugged casually, sitting on the solid wooden desk. ''Surprise?''

Clint gasped, rising from his seat to give a soft slap on her shoulder. ''When did that happen and why didn't you tell me?!'' He exclaimed offended. 

Katya chuckled softly, unable to contain her giddiness. This conversation with Clint made it all suddenly very real. ''On the floor of your guest bathroom.'' She ignored Clint's worried face. ''And we wanted to see how long it would take you guys to figure it out. So don't tell Nat I told you or I might be uninvited to my own wedding.''

Clint sighed in slight disappointment. ''Did you seriously make a bet on your own engagement?''

Natasha and Katya's betting was iconic. They bet on everything. How long Steve could go without rolling his eyes at Tony at team meetings. How many pancakes Thor could eat in one sitting. Who could get Banner to blush first with inappropriate comments. 

Sometimes the others joined and it turned into a big pool with Natasha as the big winner most of the time. 

''You know Nat. She'll take every chance to extort money from me,'' Katya chuckled, but Clint didn't join her, he was too distracted with his own thoughts.

He surprised her by pulling her into a hug. Somehow, Katya felt like his sister-in-law despite Natasha not being family by blood. They had all learned from a young age that real family wasn't bonded by blood but by heart. Katya didn't remember her parents but she did know family because of these two amazing people in her life and the team she had been gifted.

''I'm so happy for you,'' Clint said in her ear. ''This was a long time coming. There are no other people I ever believed were made for each other more than the two of you.''

''Thanks Clint,'' Katya whispered against his shoulder. He was the only other person she let hug her without asking first. He was her brother. She considered him to be.

''Wait, are you crying?'' She teased him.

''No,'' he tried to defend himself, but his high-pitched voice and sniffles betrayed him. Without looking at her, he pulled back and sat back down in his seat. 

Katya laughed silently and punched his shoulder. She was about to say something when something above her caught her eye. It was difficult to see but Pietro's streaks of speed were quite unforgettable and were burned into her brain. 

The boy was pulling plugs out of the lab's machines before anyone knew what was going on. Proudly, he dropped them on the ground, half the lights in the room out. 

Katya acted fast and pulled her gun, shooting up at the boy's feet. It wasn't her intention to kill him, at least not yet, but he needed to be away from the cradle. 

His sister yelled his name when the glass panel under his feet broke and he fell into the room below, right in front of Katya's pissed-off figure. Her gun was aimed at his chest and Clint joined her, grinning down. ''You didn't see that coming?''

Their victory was short lived however, when the sound of Steve's shield filled the air. Now that the floor was missing one panel, Katya could hear everything happening upstairs and it wasn't nice. 

More machines exploded by Steve's hand, something Tony didn't allow. With a piece of his suit wrapped around his arm, the billionaire shot the supersoldier backwards.

Bruce moved for Wanda, wrapping his arm around her neck. ''Go ahead, piss me off,'' he hissed at her. The witch froze in place right as Katya and Clint rushed up the stairs, leaving Pietro to interrupt this useless fight between team mates. Katya was beginning to grow tired of Tony and Steve's constant arguing. 

This cost time they didn't have. What they needed to do was get Natasha out of Ultron's grasp and go to Sokovia. 

Katya had to jump aside when Steve came flying towards her while Tony was blown the opposite way. Wanda grasped this opportunity to push her magic into Bruce, who stumbled backwards.

Katya didn't know where to point her gun. It wasn't exactly nice to aim it at her team mates and to be quite fair, she was also afraid to target Wanda. A deep fear had settled into her stomach. A deep fear for the girl who had shown her such powerful visions they would haunt her for years to come. 

Luckily, Thor came to the rescue, interrupting everyone's fighting by jumping on top of the cradle. It wasn't immediately clear what he meant to do, but as soon as he raised his hammer and summoned lightning, Katya dropped her hand in shock. 

''Wait!'' Bruce yelled, but it was too late. Everyone had to cover their eyes from the brightness when Thor forced the electricity into the cradle, powering it up immensely fast. The crackling of electricity filled the room for no longer than a heartbeat until it turned awfully silent.

Katya dropped the hand from her eyes and joined the others in warily watching the cradle. It was such a tense silence everyone jumped when a figure burst out, elegantly but strong.

It crouched down on the edge, staring at the ground. It wasn't much taller than Cap or Thor and had a human body, but that's not what was unsettling. Its color was a deep red, muscle red, with silver of the Vibranium metal weaved through it. 

Katya aimed her weapon at it while groaning inwardly. Another weird, unhuman thing they had to deal with. Wasn't dealing with two enhanced and an army of robots enough?

Slowly, the body stood, looking around confused but calm. The bright orange stone between his eyes was the first thing Katya noticed. This was the thing Cho had warned Steve about. It's power uncontainable.

When it saw Thor - Katya kept calling the thing ''it'', unsure what else to call it - it lunged for him. But Thor saw it coming from miles away and grabbed its arms, swinging it over his head, through the glass wall of the lab and into the area below where the party had been. Right before it smashed through the outside glass too, it stopped suddenly as if unaffected by its speed.

Thor jumped after him, followed by Steve who had shot into soldier-mode. Katya was more hesitant to follow, but couldn't stay behind alone either. Her gun she kept at the ready, slowly treading down the stairs.

The body stared out the window into the city below. At night, New York was even more beautiful. Katya loved the night, loved the dark. It gave her a sense of safety daylight never could. In the night, everyone was unanimous, unfiltered. In the darkness was when you got to know people. They hid less of themselves.

The whole team waited in silence, prepared to fight if needed. 

Katya was on edge in situations like this, but she was always calm. Now however, a restlessness plagued her body and mind and she had to force herself to stay still. 

Finally, the body turned away from the window, changing the ''clothes'' on its body to a dull grey and replicating Thor's cape. Now, it looked more human, although he could never completely be. Floating over towards Thor, he landed soundlessly.

''I'm sorry,'' it spoke calmly in a surprising British accent to the god. ''That was...odd. Thank you.''

The people around her relaxed, but Katya couldn't bring herself to lower her gun. She didn't underestimate anyone anymore. 

''Thor.'' Steve pulled his gaze to him. ''You helped create this?'' He asked outraged. He couldn't understand why the god would finish Ultron's project.

''I've had a vision. A whirlpool that sucks in all hope of life and at its center is that.'' Thor pointed at the stone on the body's forehead. At least Thor's visions were useful instead of only giving the seer nightmares.

Bruce stepped closer, eyebrows furrowed. ''What, the gem?''

''It's the Mind Stone,'' Thor explained. ''It's one of the six Infinity Stones, the greatest power in the universe, unparalleled in its destructive capabilities.''

Katya stared at the god with an empty look in her eyes. In all her years of life, she had never heard of something called an Infinity Stone. But whatever it was had the god of thunder impressed, which he wasn't easily. 

Steve still didn't understand. Nobody understood what the stone had to do with Thor creating this. ''Then why would you bring it to-''

-''Because Stark is right,'' the god interrupted.

Bruce groaned. ''Oh, it's definitely the end times.''

Katya dared take her eyes off the strange creation in her living room to throw Banner a glare. It worked because he cringed slightly and backed off.

''The Avengers cannot defeat Ultron,'' Thor started.

''Not alone,'' the body added, slowly taking a step towards the team. He was mostly interested in Katya, who still hadn't dropped her weapon. She didn't even know where to aim, if the thing even had a heart, but it made her feel a tad bit safer. 

It tilted his head, studying her defensive stance. Then he suddenly turned away, as if deciding she wasn't a threat. She didn't know whether to be offended or not.

''Why does your "vision" sound like JARVIS?'' Steve was still far from happy with these new developments, carefully circling the body. 

Tony stared at it, completely shocked and surprised. He had a hard time mumbling out words because he was so distracted with the creation. ''We...we reconfigured JARVIS' matrix to create something new.''

Steve threw him a glare. ''I think I've had my fill of new.''

Even the twins weren't sure what to think of this new presence in the room. Pietro was smart enough to stand close to his sister, protecting her in case it tried something like it did with Thor. 

''You think I'm a child of Ultron?'' It asked calmly, addressing his question to Steve who shamelessly looked it up and down. It was kinda rude if you asked Katya.

''You're not?''

A simple headshake followed. ''I'm not Ultron,'' it denied. ''I'm not JARVIS. I am...'' Vision was looking for a word to describe himself but couldn't find anything. Instead, he settled for a being who's existing, ''I am.''

Tony and Bruce, the science bros, stared at it as if they saw water on fire. It was funny to see them so dumbfounded and impressed. It wasn't easy to get Tony Stark impressed.

Katya was put even more on edge when Wanda stepped forward in a threatening way, her fists balled. ''I looked in your head and saw annihilation,'' she hissed at Vision.

''Look again.''

Clint laughed, making Katya jump slightly because it was so close to her ear. ''Yeah. Her seal of approval means jack to me.''

Thor was quick to jump in and avoid another fight. ''Their powers, the horrors in our heads, Ultron himself, they all came from the Mind Stone, and they're nothing compared to what it can unleash. But with it on our side...''

''Is it?'' Steve interrupted. ''Are you? On our side?''

Everyone stared at Vision, Katya gripping her weapon a little tighter in case the answer wasn't what it was supposed to be. 

''I don't think it's that simple,'' it finally spoke, calm as ever. The fact that he always spoke so in control and slow was really annoying. 

Clint scoffed. ''Well it better get real simple real soon.''

Vision started walking around, looking everyone in the eye. ''I am on the side of life. Ultron isn't, he will end it all.''

''What's he waiting for?'' Tony asked. 

Katya hadn't said anything the whole time. She'd rather observe from a distance and try to keep a clear head instead of joining the arguing. It didn't look like she had any choice though, when Vision stopped and looked her dead in the eye while answering Tony's question.

''You.''

They had a staring contest. Katya trying to read Vision while he did the same to her. Nothing he said or did radiated he was a threat. But since he was something new, it was impossible to know what his tells would be. Could he even lie?

''Where?'' Katya vaguely heard Bruce asking.

Since she wasn't going to answer, Clint did it for her. ''Sokovia. He's got Nat there too.''

Katya's stomach dropped and she was once again reminded of the danger Natasha was in. This conversation was taking way too long. She felt some eyes on her at Clint's announcement, but they were gone quickly. The team knew better than to show pity.

Footsteps behind Vision finally made him break eye contact with Katya and he turned around to see Bruce stepping towards him, his hands forever awkwardly clenched together in front of his stomach. ''If we're wrong about you, if you're the monster that Ultron made you to be...''

''What will you do?'' Vision genuinely asked, but he was met with silence. Silence he understood was meaning to say: we're going to destroy you. ''I don't want to kill Ultron. He's unique, and he's in pain. But that pain will roll over the earth, so he must be destroyed.''

Katya felt herself becoming convinced Vision wasn't a threat to them. The way he talked so confidently and the fact he wanted to kill Ultron was enough for now. 

''Every form he's built, every trace of his presence on the net, we have to act now. And not one of us can do it without the others.'' It looked at its hands, turning them around. ''Maybe I am a monster. I don't think I'd know if I were one. I'm not what you are, and not what you intended. So there may be no way to make you trust me. But we need to go.''

Everyone, including Katya, froze into place, mouths dropped open. Vision had grabbed Thor's hammer from the table and casually offered it to the god. He held it so casually, like it wasn't a big deal.

That was the first time Katya dropped her gun, not ready to completely holster it, but she dared let herself be more vulnerable. If Vision could lift the hammer, certainly he wasn't a threat to her or the team.

Thor was the first one to break out of the shock, patting Stark on the shoulder as a compliment. ''Right. Well done.''

''Three minutes. Get what you need.'' Steve ordered his team. 

Katya was already halfway out the door, still in her mission suit and not bothering to help the twins. She didn't owe them anything and her hands were still itching to shoot at least one of them. She wasn't one to let go of a vendetta easily, it would take more than helping Steve fight Ultron. Something in which both Wanda and Pietro had also failed.


	61. Same Grounds, Different Enemy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: might be triggering for some people as there will be a panic attack in this chapter.

Flying was a regular activity, but that didn't mean it didn't suck. Teleportation, that's what Katya wished existed. No time wasted in getting from on point to another. It would save so many more lives if the Avengers could be somewhere in the blink of an eye. Maybe Tony should look into that sometime.

It was so frustrating, wanting to be somewhere badly, but having to fly for hours first. Before normal missions, Katya would sometimes take a nap in the jet or try to relax, but that was impossible today. With the lack of sleep on top of the minimal hours she already got, exhaustion begged her body to lie down. 

Adrenaline and anxiety were what kept it running. That and the four energy drinks Katya had drunk. Some sort of concoction Tony had come up with. According to him it was the best way to gain energy fast, as long as you didn't drink too much. What too much was, he didn't specify, but Katya was sure four fell into that category.

The twins stood in the corner of the jet, huddled together. They still made her feel uneasy, although Vision now did too. She didn't feel safe with her own team anymore and that was expressed in the way she rest her hand on her gun, always ready to grab it if needed. 

Wanda had come in with one of Nat's leather jackets on, something Katya allowed with a glare and a warning. She was sure the girl was afraid of her by this point but that was good. She should be.

Right before landing, Steve gave his usual speech Katya had grown quite tired off. They were useful, but also a bit cringy. She didn't need to be reminded of what was at stake. 

Steve's words flew right past her head, until he spoke a few that hit her hard. 

''Find out what Ultron's been building. We find Romanoff,'' Katya averted her eyes to the floor, feeling the others look at her, ''and we clear the field. Keep the fight between us. Ultron thinks we're monsters and we're what's wrong with the world. This isn't just about beating him. It's about whether he's right.''

Katya didn't need to try and prove that. She already knew she was what was wrong with the world. The worst of the worst, that's what she was. She was long done proving herself. People could think whatever they wanted, their opinions of her couldn't be worse than her own opinion on herself.

Katya ran straight for the main building of the fort, the building they knew Natasha would be in. Clint provided cover for her, knowing she was in no state to do that herself. All she was focused on was getting her fiancée out of there.

''Natasha!'' Katya hissed as loud as she dared, ducking under the low ceilings of the old fort. At this point, she had her gun in her hand, prepared to kill any robot that found her first. ''Natasha!'' she called out again after she received silence the first time. 

Faintly in the distance, she heard her name. It was hard to hear, but it was definitely the woman she was looking for. 

Katya sped up, careful not to fall on the uneven ground, until she stepped into a dark room with a large hole in the floor and some cells lining the walls. Horrors she didn't need to know about, occurred here. 

''Katya?'' she heard again. 

Katya breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing the bright red hair against the grey stone wall. A certain peace, rest, fell over her body. As if there was finally sun after days of rain. A sun that warmed her heart.

''Hey,'' she smiled, hooking her fingers into the steel gate that was the prison cell, ''You alright?'' Katya looked her over thoroughly for any injuries, but found none. At least no visible ones.

Natasha did the same after nodding, scanning Katya's face and seeing how much of an effect her disappearance had had on the blonde. ''You look horrible.''

''Well, thanks,'' Katya said sarcastically. ''That's what happens when your fiancée gets kidnapped by a killer robot.''

''You care too much,'' Natasha teased her, expecting a playful glare or a smile in return. Instead, Katya froze in place, the voice from her vision echoing in her head. 

''Youcare too much about her. That is your mistake.''

''Kat?'' Natasha asked worried, seeing her zone out and taking a few steps back. ''Katya.'' She wished she could touch her, shake her out of her head, but the literal steel wall between them prevented that. 

Katya shook her head, forcing the nausea down. This wasn't the time to let her fears get to her. ''The team's in the city, it's about to light up.'' Her voice was toneless, eyes distant despite her will to stay in the present.

Natasha decided the best way to play this out was play along for now, remembering what they had agreed on earlier. They would talk all this out after this. ''I don't suppose you found a key lying around somewhere?'' she asked Katya, who smiled faintly.

''Actually, I did.'' With a very precise gunshot to the metal lock of the cell, Natasha was free. 

Katya avoided her gaze, handing her an earpiece and some extra guns and ammo she had taken from the jet. Surprisingly, Natasha also still had her own. Ultron had apparently decided she couldn't harm him with them. 

''So what's our play?'' the redhead asked, casually loading the weapons and fitting the comms in her ear.

''Get the civilians out of the city. Keep the fight between us and Ultron,'' Katya started to lead them both out of the building, going back the same way she came in. ''I don't suppose you know what he's been building?''

Natasha shook her head even though Katya couldn't see it. The blonde made a real effort to avoid eye contact. ''No idea. He wasn't exactly the sharing type.'' 

At the end of the stale, dark corridor, bright light illuminated the exit. Right before stepping into the sun, Natasha stopped Katya by gripping her arm and spinning her around. ''Hey, be careful out there.''

For a moment, Katya was lost in her gaze as usual, forgetting all about the horrors in her head. ''Always,'' she breathed automatically. The answer had been etched into her brain after so much time. 

But then a loud explosion outside broke the spell and she was thrown back into reality. Dropping her eyes down to the weapons on her hips, Katya muttered, ''You too, I don't think I can handle losing you again.''

She jogged off without waiting for an answer. If she had, she would have heard Natasha whisper softly, ''Gosh I love you.''

They only made it a couple steps before the ground suddenly started shaking. At first it felt like an earthquake, something that would be very inconvenient, but nothing was a coincidence now. This was Ultron's work. 

The world kept shaking. Bricks fell off houses and the streets burst open. People were yelling, making it more difficult to think clearly. But when a family with three little kids ran past, the children crying and screaming,

Katya's heart was pounding fast, hammering in her chest. She almost dropped her weapons because of sweaty and shaky hands. The black asphalt shook dangerously below her feet, throwing her off-balance. Her throat squeezed shut, making it hard to breathe, which only made all of it worse.

She was in a complete panic, frozen in place. 

In all her years of training and work, this had never happened before. She never froze.

However, it was all too much. The lack of sleep, food and water, combined with the anxiety, stress and anger of the past few days caught up to her. She wasn't ready for this. Wasn't ready for battle yet. The visions had traumatized her.

Katya couldn't see what was happening in front of her anymore, couldn't focus on anything but the knot in her chest. This was going to be the day the Avengers died.

She stumbled backwards into a car, causing her to jump.

''Hey, hey, hey,'' Natasha was just in time to catch her, slowly lowering her to the ground. With her back against the old car and knees pulled up to her chest, Katya begged for oxygen. Her whole body was shaking and it wasn't because of the earth.

Natasha crouched down in front of her. Far enough to give her space but close enough Katya knew she was there and could feel her. ''Kat? It's me,'' she said calmly. This wasn't the first time she'd had to coax her through a panic attack. ''Close your eyes and listen to my voice, okay? Concentrate on me. I need you to breathe for me. Nice and slow. In and out.'' Slowly, she started counting to ten. Again and again for as long as it was needed.

It was their luck there were no robots nearby. Maybe they had decided two female assassins weren't worth it. Didn't matter why they weren't here, at least not in the moment. 

Natasha sat there, calmly talking to Katya, until the blonde had calmed down and the shaking had reduced to her hands only. 

All the energy Katya had pumped into her body in an unhealthy way before, had been burned up completely. She was left with a hazy head, unable to focus and get back to the moment.

Upon seeing in what shape Katya was, Natasha worryingly said, ''There's no way you're fighting. I'll have Stark fly you out of here.''

Katya shook her head, trying to push herself up from the ground stubbornly. She knew she was still coming down from her attack and needed some time to pick herself up, but the fate of the world depended on them. ''I'm fighting. You need every body in this fight.''

''This isn't up for discussion, Katya.'' Natasha gently tried to push Katya back down to the ground, wanting her to sit and calm down a little longer.

But Katya angrily swatted her arm away, feeling belittled and literally suppressed by the pressure on her shoulder. ''Stop treating me like a child!'' She exploded. ''I don't need you to make decisions for me.'' 

Katya wobbly stood, holding on to the car for support. Impatiently she brushed some loose strands of hair out of her face and grabbed her weapons before walking off. She wasn't at all aware of her surroundings, meaning she was an easy target for hard-to-kill robots.

Natasha hurried after her, trying desperately to stop her. ''I'm trying to help you.'' She wasn't one to raise her voice quickly, instead trying to get through with choosing the right words and not increasing their volume. 

Katya scoffed, pushing past her without bothering to give her a second glance. ''Yeah? Well I don't need or want it.''

The gravel and rubble that had come loose crunched under her boots. Honestly Katya had no idea where she was going, only that she had to get away. Get further away from that horrible building.

''Please, Katya,'' Natasha begged, trying to keep up with the blonde's quick steps. ''You're going to get yourself killed.''

''Fine by me,'' Katya muttered, just loud enough for the other woman to hear. 

It caused helplessness, anger and worry to swirl in Natasha's stomach. She had to stop this poisonous train of thought. If left to run free, they would cause Katya to spiral downwards quick. Natasha needed to knock some sense into her. She did that by grabbing Katya's upper arm tightly after catching up with her. ''But not by me.''

''Let me go,'' Katya said sternly, but her demand was ignored by Natasha who did everything she could to catch her gaze. 

''Stop pushing me away,'' The redhead managed to keep her voice calm but pressing, despite the anger she felt. ''We're in this together.''

When Katya finally looked at her, her eyes held so much fury it scared her. ''I said, let me go.'' The blonde ripped her arm free and sprinted away. 

Every cell in her body wanted to run after her, but Natasha stayed right where she was. Katya's warning was real and if she didn't let her go now, it would be a lot uglier. Maybe she had been right and she had to trust her more. Trust her to be fine if she said she was. 

Watching her black and blonde figure disappear around the corner, Natasha reached up to touch the earpiece, changing the channels. ''Clint?''

The archer answered before she even had to ask. ''Yeah, I heard it. Don't worry, I got her.''

She nodded to herself, slowly starting to follow after Katya as she knew where the others were. ''Somebody talk to me, what's going on?'' Natasha asked into her ear after changing the channels again. It was frustrating, not knowing what the plan was, where to go and what to do. Already she was one step behind. 

''The city is a meteor,'' Steve grunted through the comms, loud explosions and blows of metal on metal his background music. ''Ultron wants to drop it when high enough, causing global extinction.''

Why did it always have to be global extinction? Why couldn't a villain ever think: oh maybe a small town is enough. But no, once again the fate of the world was in the Avengers' hands. And while some were handling it well, others were stumbling through the streets half-blind, chased by the horrors of the past.

''Stark, you worry about bringing the city back down safely,'' The Captain addressed him. ''The rest of us have one job: tear these things apart. You get hurt, hurt 'em back. You get killed, walk it off.''

Despite her trembling hands and the knots in her chest, Katya had managed to take out a few bots on her way to the others. The city wasn't that big, especially the part that had broken off from the Earth, but it proved to be difficult to find her team mates. Who she was looking for exactly, she didn't know herself. 

Tony would be impossible to reach, flying around above her head and busy with the science of it all. Steve wasn't preferable. He always had that worried and pitiful look on his face whenever he saw her after a breakdown. It wasn't illogical, her mental state was questionable, but she couldn't handle that face now. Didn't know if she could control herself and not try to hit it off his face.

Bruce certainly wasn't an option and there was no way she would be going to Wanda or Pietro, the deep distrust they stirred in her wouldn't make anything better. Thor was an option, but she had never felt that connection with him she had felt with the others. 

All this eliminating people on the list left only one person: Clint.

He was always the second choice to go to whenever Katya had problems or needed help, but because she had almost literally yelled Natasha to fuck off a minute ago, he had suddenly moved up to first. If he would be happy with that, she didn't know. After all, he had heard how she had blown up at her girl.

''Thanks Cap, that was truly inspiring.'' It was the first time Katya had said after minutes of walking and hating herself. Surprisingly, she hadn't fallen over any stray pieces of rubble, but hadn't gotten out of the journey unscathed. While she may have killed the bots eventually, they also got a few good hits in.

There was a deep cut on the back of her head, staining her hair a deep red. It had already fallen out of the braid, the hair tie lost, so it fell into her face again and again. The dull ache in her left shoulder was back, a reminder the muscle was weak and had been overused. Her vision was blurry, probably too blurry to fight. The world was also spinning, the result of a concussion.

Overall, the day wasn't going great for the Russian, who had finally found her favorite archer by following the trail of bots with arrows in their heads.

Right before he saw her though, too many robots were surrounding both him and Wanda, so he had to pull them into a nearby building for cover rather roughly, grabbing her and jumping through the window. 

Katya waited around the corner of one of the nearby buildings, once again starting her own assault on the metal things while listening in to the conversation going on across the street between the Avenger and the witch.

''How could I let this happen?'' The girl was starting to panic in a similar way Katya had done earlier. It was all getting too much. ''This is all our fault.'' She rambled, lowly muttering to herself. It was almost impossible to hear over Katya's gunshots.

Clint's answer fell away too, although she heard the most important parts of it. Parts that weren't only meant for Wanda, but also applied to her. 

''Okay, look, the city is flying, we're fighting an army of robots, and I have a bow and arrow. None of this makes sense. But I'm going back out there because it's my job. Okay? And I can't do my job and babysit.'' He already had someone to babysit, but he couldn't exactly say that with everyone listening in. ''It doesn't matter what you did, or what you were. If you go out there, you fight, and you fight to kill.''

The last part of his speech echoed around in her head. 

''It doesn't matter what you did, or what you were.''

When she heard the words, they made sense and she wanted to believe them. It were the same words she always said to Natasha when she had a moment of doubt about herself and who she was. But when they were said to the blonde, they sounded fake, as if it was something people were meant to say to make her feel better. 

Katya was confident in many things, her skills as a spy, the goodness she was doing with the Avengers, the love Natasha had for her. But confidence in her own good heart was hard to find. Maybe it was all an act, that one day the monster would break out and reveal itself, taking over control. It was always boiling just beneath the surface. 

Sometimes, she got very close to losing control, when her hands were coated in red and bloodlust filled her chest. It was a switch that had never been completely flipped, always stopped just in time to prevent a massacre. But Katya was terrified of that part of her, knowing it was inside her, lying in wait, made her nauseous.

Some gravel crunched very close beside her and Katya whipped around, finger tightening around the trigger. Clint was fast and ducked away, but would have been too slow hadn't the woman stopped herself. 

He smiled sheepishly, as if he hadn't given her the biggest scare ever. ''Hi.''

Katya growled angrily, taking her revenge by shooting a robot over his shoulder, making sure the bullet flew right past his ear. He probably wished he hadn't put his hearing aids in when she did so, although that would have made it impossible to survive.

Back to back they fought. The whoosh of Clint's bow being a soothing noise between all the harsh explosions and shots. ''Ow,'' he said after landing a little too harshly behind a car for cover. 

Katya scoffed from the other side of the small street, pressing herself against the wall while reloading her guns. She was dangerously low on ammo. ''You're getting old, old man.''

''Shut up Petrova,'' he grunted, getting ready to fire more of his exploding arrows. Before he could however, the doors to the building he was previously in, burst open. Out came Wanda, her red magic twirling around her hands.

Upon seeing it, anxiety spiked within Katya and she had to force herself to take deep breaths and remind herself Wanda was helping them now. It would take a long time before she could forgive her. 

The girl started ripping the bots apart easily, throwing the remnants into the others. Clint watched impressed while at the same time keeping a close eye on Katya in case it all became too much again. 

Within a minute, the three of them had cleaned up the last of the enemies in their vicinity, Clint throwing a proud nod to the girl. She in turn looked at Katya, but the blonde ignored her completely, taking off in the opposite direction. It was best to leave her alone as much as possible.

''Alright, we're all clear here,'' Clint informed the others, but mostly Cap because he orchestrated the whole mission, knowing exactly where everyone was and what parts still needed to be cleaned out.

''We are not clear! We are very not clear!'' was his answer, thrown out in a panic. He needed help, so that's where Katya went.

''Coming to you,'' Katya answered him, picking up her speed. Clint was on her tail, having no trouble keeping up with the exhausted and hurt woman. Pietro had picked up his sister and sped to Cap within seconds. Normal humans had to do with ten times that time to get there.

On the way, Katya shot the last of her bullets into the robots the duo encountered, turning her guns into useless pieces of plastic. She didn't even bother keeping them, just threw them to the side of the road. They were nothing special, just a standard type of gun Tony could order them anywhere.

The city was all noise. Things exploding, people screaming, gunshots, footsteps, robots whirring. But Katya closed herself off from it all. If she didn't, she'd go spiraling down again. The best trick she had developed for that was to talk to herself. Not out loud, but in her head. Either by singing a random song or repeating a sentence over and over again. 

It was never a specific one every time. It was always different. Something she heard someone say on the street or on TV, something she had read on the news or in a book. It turned into a mantra, almost a prayer. Today, it was, ''I exist.'' Nice and short but an important reminder for Katya who felt like a ghost some days. 

Nobody knew of this trick, but Clint had to repeat her name a couple times to get through to her. ''Katya!'' She momentarily looked at him, impatiently waiting for his question. ''You good on weapons?''

She nodded. She had stolen a lot of Natasha's widow bites from the jet. Tony had gotten thousands made a couple months ago. They were everywhere. Literally everywhere. It wasn't uncommon someone accidentally sat on one from time to time in the jet. Whether the chips were there by accident or not wasn't relevant.

Katya had also stolen Natasha's gloves. The ones with the electricity running through them and the wristbands that shot it. Electricity was just incredibly handy in this fight. 

The streets were getting a little wider the closer the two came to the square. There was a little more light and Katya could hear the fighting from her team mates. It was sure Steve was there and also Thor, but the supersoldier was actually the reason Katya stopped dead in her tracks. Or rather, what he yelled. ''Romanoff!''

Clint almost ran into Katya, who refused to move. It was childish and stupid to let something as simple as a fight interfere with the mission, but she just couldn't face Natasha. Not after all the yelling on her part at the redhead who only wanted to help. 

''What's going on?'' Clint asked her confused, impatiently waiting to keep going. 

''I can't face her.'' Instead of saying it, knowing she would be able to hear it through the comms, Katya signed it, too lazy to change the channels. Her ASL was a little rusty because Clint almost always wore his hearing aids and it had been a long time since she had learned it, but he understood what she was meaning to say.

''She knows you didn't mean any of it,'' Clint signed back. ''I promise, you're good.''

Katya nodded, taking a deep breath before running around the corner. 

The chaos in the square was insane. Every bot had gathered there. At least that was what it looked like. 

Steve did a good job beheading them with his shield while Thor's hammer was also successful in breaking them apart. Katya's heart skipped a beat when her eyes landed on the hair of red, still a great distance away but fighting so gracefully it was a sight for sore eyes. Guilt washed over her, which she quickly pushed down. There was no time for that now.

By shooting the bots in her way, Katya fought her way to the others, her back covered by Clint who had a lot of success with his explosive arrows. Steve finished the last one off just as they made it to him and Natasha, the latter immediately finding her fiancée, but unable to catch her gaze. 

Katya had no idea what to say or do, awkwardly fiddling with her gloves while feeling the redhead's eyes drill into her skull. If she would give in and look up, she would collapse under the crushing weight of guilt. 

Luckily, Steve came to her rescue. ''The next wave's gonna hit any minute. What have you got, Stark?'' 

''Well, nothing great,'' he announced sadly. ''Maybe a way to blow up the city. That'll keep it from impacting the surface if you guys can get clear.''

Steve shook his head and Katya knew there was no way he would let Stark blow up thousands of people. ''I asked for a solution, not an escape plan.''

Stark said what Katya and probably also the others were thinking. ''Impact radius is getting bigger every second. We're going to have to make a choice.'' A choice where they had to choose for an option with the least amount of deaths. And while Katya followed the supersoldier and the Russian to the edge of the rock and the clouds, normally miles up in the sky, were passing right in front of their eyes, the choice was simple.

Natasha realized the same. ''Cap, these people are going nowhere. If Stark finds a way to blow this rock...''

But like always, the Captain was stubborn. Stubborn to a fault. ''Not 'til everyone's safe.''

''Everyone up here versus everyone down there? There's no math there,'' Katya backed Natasha, with the result she once again felt her green eyes on her. 

''I'm not leaving this rock with one civilian on it.'' Steve started to get pissed they would even propose something like that, but Katya didn't intend to leave these people. 

''I didn't say we should leave,'' Natasha said, shocking Steve who turned to look at her. ''There's worse ways to go. Where else am I gonna get a view like this?''

They all turned to look at the landscape of clouds in front of them. It was truly beautiful, but in a catastrophic way. The moment was so sad, so hopeless and final that this time Katya did look at Natasha, finding her green eyes that held nothing of the anger and hurt she had expected them to. 

There was a faint smile on both their lips. Acceptance of fate. At least they would go together, like they always wished. Neither of them knew if they had the strength to go on with their lives after the other passed away. Katya was sure she would never ever recover from that. 

Right as Katya wanted to grab Natasha's hand, a static voice interrupted them in their ears. It crackled and fell away a little, but they would always recognize it. 

''Glad you like the view, Romanoff. It's about to get better.''


	62. Breaking Hearts And Broken Bodies

''Glad you like the view, Romanoff. It's about to get better.''

The sentence was so unexpected Katya found herself manically laughing. She sounded absolutely insane. Who knew, maybe she was. 

In front of them, flying up through the clouds, was a real life Helicarrier. The ones that all went down during the fall of SHIELD. Fury was always saving their asses, wasn't he?

The situation from ten seconds ago, where Katya had essentially accepted she would die today, had made a full one-eighty to one where there was hope again. 

''Nice, right?'' Fury said casually. ''I pulled her out of mothballs with a couple of old friends. She's dusty, but she'll do.''

Steve shook his head in disbelief, chuckling silently. ''Fury, you son of a bitch.''

Katya turned to him in shock. Did he actually curse? Wasn't he the one who reprimanded Tony for cursing only a couple days ago in the woods outside this exact same city? Even Fury was surprised. ''Oooh! You kiss your mother with that mouth?''

Lifeboats started to deploy from the thing, slowly flying to the rock that kept climbing to more dangerous altitudes by the second. 

Steve wasted no more time admiring the thing, instead he shot back into soldier-mode and ordered, ''Let's load 'em up.''

Katya went to turn away, following him to the buildings surrounding the square to get people out and onto the boats. Instead, she was stopped by Natasha. ''Wait,'' she called out softly, almost careful. 

Katya sighed, already feeling where this was going. ''If you're going to tell me to get on the first boat, I'll throw you off this rock myself,'' she half-joked. Although she was tired of people telling her what to do, she also knew she was being very stupid by continuing to fight. 

But Natasha was already shaking her head while she talked. ''No, I just wanted to give you this.'' Pulling a gun from the holster on her right leg, she offered it to Katya who took it with slightly trembling hands. 

''Oh,'' she mumbled embarrassed, ''thanks.''

Natasha nodded, walking off to follow Steve. Katya stopped her after a couple steps, body still frozen in place while staring at the weapon in your hands. ''Nat?'' Natasha turned around, waiting on what she had to say. Now Katya looked up. ''I'm sorry.''

Natasha exhaled in relief, she hadn't realized she had been holding her breath. ''I know, babe,'' she smiled softly. A real, genuine smile. And for the first time since they had landed in Sokovia, Katya felt good, light. 

There was hope again, in both the mission and between her and Nat. 

Katya shook her head, trying not to celebrate too early. Everyone knew what happened if you did that. Shit happened. 

Holstering the gun but keeping it ready to go, she started to guide civilians to the lifeboats. 

The vehicles were large, able to hold more than a hundred people, maybe more than that. But all those hundreds of people came rushing towards her like the sea to the beach. Once again, Katya found herself unable to move, getting swallowed by the masses. 

That was until a firm but gentle hand gripped her wrist and tugged her to the side, out of the path to the lifeboats. It was dropped as soon as Katya was safe. The owner afraid to touch her skin longer than necessary. 

Turning to her left, the last person Katya had expected to help her smiled awkwardly, fiddling with her hands. 

''I'm sorry,'' a thick Sokovian accent said. ''I heard your mind from across the square.''

Wanda had expected everything, for Katya to yell at her, push her or even shoot her, but silence didn't make it on that list. 

Upon not receiving an answer, just a dumbstruck look, the Sokovian eventually took off, leaving behind the startled Russian who didn't know what to feel or think. 

Maybe she had judged the girl too harshly. After all, how could Katya be grateful for people giving her a second chance, without giving it back to someone else? Besides that one time she had given her that vision, Wanda had never made a move to attack her again, only defending herself when provoked. 

Someone calling her name pulled her back to reality. It was Steve, who was ushering his group of civilians onto the boat closest to her. 

''Katya! Get them out of the buildings and onto the second boat!''

It took a while before she realized a second one had already landed. This time in the middle of the plaza, closer to the buildings around it so people were less likely to get shot at by the ongoing flow of robots the Avengers couldn't seem to get rid of. 

Together with Clint and, once again, Wanda, she helped women and children, men and elderly couples to safety. Protecting them by shooting at the robots and yelling to keep their heads down and keep walking. 

Katya watched the boat fly away after it was full, stepping back to avoid the heat of the thrusters. Her breathing was way too shallow to be healthy, her painful headache only getting worse by the minute. Over the pounding of her own heartbeat in her ear, she heard Tony excitedly yell. ''Thor, I got a plan!''

''We're out of time. They're coming for the core,'' the god answered. He was holed up in a small church, or what was left of it, defending the core that was keeping the rock together. One touch on the Vibranium thing and the rock they were standing on would drop down miles, exterminating all life on Earth. It was vital no bot would get to it before Stark had found a way to blow it up safely. 

''Avengers, time to work for a living.'' It was their cue to abandon the square and go to the church, aiding Thor and Stark to keep the city afloat a little longer. 

Katya stayed behind, not immediately following Clint and the others. She swept the area for any straggles, both human and not. When she came up empty handed, she took a moment to herself, leaning with her back against a nearby wall. 

Against her training and against instinct, she closed her eyes, concentrating on the howling wind. At this altitude, it was loud, tugging at her hair and clothes. It was also strangely relaxing to tune out for a second, forgetting all about the horrors around her. 

She had already been on her feet longer than she expected to be. Somehow finding energy in the deepest parts of her body, stored away for moments like these, when her body was done but her willpower wasn't. 

It was a strange sensation. She was here, but everything was muted, as if she was hearing and seeing through a thick mist. Her body moved, but the movements weren't conscious. Auto pilot, that's what she was surviving on. 

She stayed like that until the roar of a heavy engine came closer, the ground under her feet shaking under the weight of the heavy vehicle.

It stopped in front of her, big and yellow. The passenger side door was thrown open from the inside, inviting Katya to step in. 

''You need a ride?'' Natasha smirked, her head peeking out. She felt very badass behind the wheel. 

Katya shook her head, chuckling, gratefully accepting the opportunity to sit down and get driven to the church instead of having to walk. 

It was a bumpy ride, Natasha shamelessly driving through and over pieces of rubble. Luckily, the wagon was built for it. With a big blade in front like bulldozers had, the redhead hit every robot she could. They flew past the windshield, over the truck. 

She was enjoying it so much that Katya enjoyed watching her. As if she had given a five-year-old a new toy.

Of course, the very annoying billionaire that was also on their team had to ruin it. ''Romanoff? You and Petrova better not be playing hide-and-seek body parts edition.''

Katya couldn't stop her laugh while Natasha rolled her eyes. ''Relax Shellhead, it's not that kind of ride.''

The truck eventually came to a stop at the church, taking down another fence while it was as it. Tony was lucky this part of Sokovia would be blown up and he didn't have to pay to fix it. His pockets were deep, but were they that deep?

''What's the drill?'' Natasha asked, walking into the ruins of the building with Katya following closely behind her. There was still a silent awkwardness between both of them, the fight from before far from forgotten. Katya was an expert at blocking her emotions though, so that's what she did. At least for now.

''This is the drill,'' Tony gestured to the Vibranium object in the center of the round floor. All the Avengers, including Vision and the twins, surrounded it protectively. ''If Ultron gets a hand on the core, we lose.''

Hulk was just in time for the party to start, smashing his way in aggressively. He was followed by Ultron, floating a couple feet up in the air proudly. 

''Is that the best you can do?'' Thor yelled at him. The god, like everyone else, was tired and done with this whole fight.

As a response to his cocky question, Ultron summoned dozens, maybe even hundreds of his minions, ready to attack. 

Katya sighed heavily. She didn't know how long she could keep going, the world was starting to spin more and more and she found herself losing focus. 

''You had to ask,'' Steve sighed.

Thor wasn't the only cocky one. If you could give unnecessary genders to robots, Ultron would obviously be a guy. ''This is the best I can do,'' the thing said, spreading his arms wide. ''This is exactly what I wanted. All of you, against all of me. How could you possibly hope to stop me?''

Nobody had an answer for him. Well, nobody except Stark who had an answer to everything. ''Well, like the old man said. Together.''

Katya barely had time to grab her weapons before the first bot stood in front of her. It was shot down with a powerful electrical zap, frying his systems. They came from everywhere, above, right and left, in front. It sucked they didn't go down easy, not as easy as humans. 

Katya had a weird relationship with the human body. It was strong, incredibly strong in some cases, but it had big weaknesses. One gunshot to the heart or the head and you were dead. One knife that went a little too far into the stomach and you bled out, organs raptured, filling you with blood where it wasn't supposed to be. Air, also a big struggle. A couple seconds of getting your airpipe crushed and you were a goner. 

The robots missed that part, that human part which gave life meaning. Life without an end didn't mean anything. Try running a marathon without a finish line. After a couple hours, you start to question why you are still running, what the point is of it all if you don't get rewarded at the end. 

Life was all about those rewards. They could be small, like getting out of bed in the morning or eating a meal. They could be bigger, like kissing the person you liked or getting into your dream college. They could also be huge, your child being born or your wedding day. 

All these things made it worth it, the pain, the suffering. That's why Katya would never feel less than a robot. That's why Katya was still breathing. Being human is the greatest gift of all.

She shot her, or actually Natasha's gun, until it ran out of bullets. Then she switched to her gloves and Widow Bites, all actually owned by Natasha. But since they shared everything, the line between who owned what was very flexible.

During the fight, Katya tried not to let on that she noticed Clint and Natasha were taking down a lot of robots that were hers. For once in her life, she let them help her without protest. After years of fighting and getting hurt, she knew the limits of her body and when to stop. It was already way past that.

Some stone fell on her head, making her cough from the dust and grime that accompanied it. Vision had thrown Ultron through the wall and onto the street outside. He was quickly followed by both Thor and Stark, all of them shooting beams of energy and light, slowly burning its body.

Ultron's minions around Katya seemed to panic when their leader died, abruptly stopping their fight and abandoning the rock. Their small bodies jumped into the void, propelled forward by tiny thrusters under their feet. 

''They'll try to leave the city!'' Thor called out. Like Katya, he was covered in blood. She hadn't expected him to get hurt by the robots this much, but even gods bled.

Tony ran out as well, quick to take care of the problem. ''We can't let 'em, not even one. Rhodey!''

Another wave of dust hit Katya. Combining her coughing attack with the thin air, it was difficult to fill her lungs with enough oxygen. It was so bad she couldn't stand on her feet, sinking down onto the dirty rock floor. She could, because there were no robots to fight anymore.

Natasha was next to her instantly, worried her fiancée would choke to death. 

It was crucial to stop her attack quickly, before she begin hyperventilating or would slip into another panic attack. So they found themselves into a similar position as before, although this time the redhead didn't say anything, just let Katya squeeze her hand till the fingers turned blue. 

Steve looked at the blonde worryingly, realizing she really couldn't go anymore. ''We gotta move out. Even I can tell the air is getting thin. You guys get to the boats, I'll sweep for stragglers, be right behind you.'' 

''What about the core?'' Clint asked, momentarily taking his eyes off his friend who had calmed down a little bit.

Wanda stepped forward, nodding to the archer. ''I'll protect it. It's my job.''

Clint nodded in thanks. ''Nat? This way.''

Natasha picked up Katya, letting her lean on her while stumbling after Clint. Her attack had subsided but she needed oxygen to stop her racing heart.

Clint short-circuited a very nice Audi outside the church to get to the lifeboats faster, a cabriolet. Exactly the kind Katya could appreciate. Of course, Tony still had to keep his word and give her the McLaren he had promised her. She could already smell the expensive leather and feel her body sink into those seats.

''Why are you smiling?'' Natasha teased her as she held the backdoor open for her, slowly leading her in. 

Katya hadn't even realized she was smiling. ''Just thinking about the McLaren that's going to shine in our garage next week.''

Natasha rolled her eyes, closing the door for the Russian. ''You and your cars.''

Clint raced through the rubble as dangerously as Natasha had done in the truck, collecting dust on the windshield while avoiding other cars and pieces of robot. ''I know what I need to do,'' he suddenly said halfway though, shouting a little to be heard over the wind. ''The dining room!''

Katya groaned loudly. Clint was always renovating his home. He just couldn't sit still. It had become a joke, every time he came up with new ideas, both women would groan and roll their eyes. 

''If I knock out that east wall, it'll make a nice work space for Laura, huh? Put up some baffling, she can't hear the kids running around, what do you think?''

Natasha shrugged, playing the game along with him. ''You guys always eat in the kitchen anyway.''

''No one eats in a dining room,'' Clint agreed. ''I'll wait until after the wedding though. I don't want to accidentally break my arm falling off the ladder.''

Katya groaned loudly, frustratingly putting her head in her hands while sliding down her seat, wishing she could hit him. 

Natasha's eyes widened in surprise before narrowing at him dangerously. ''What?''

Clint realized his mistake but acted as if he didn't know what had Natasha so pissed. ''What?'' he asked innocently, raising his eyebrows and being very careful to keep his eyes on the road. If he made the mistake of looking at her, he would cringe under the force of her green eyes. 

''Katya.'' The last syllable was dragged out dangerously and the blonde felt Natasha's piercing gaze through her hands. ''Do you want to tell me something?''

The blonde peeked through her fingers, seeing Natasha turned around in her seat. Her face was angry but her eyes shone with humor and the corners of her mouth were turned up slightly. 

''No?'' Katya tried.

Now Natasha's dangerous glare became more intense. It was exactly the kind Katya could never resist giving into. 

''Okay fine, yes. I may have told him we're getting married.''

The glare stayed on her for a second longer until it suddenly disappeared and Natasha relaxed, her theatrics over. ''You owe me twenty bucks.''

''Fine,'' Katya grumbled. Damn Clint. She would take her revenge, he'd just have to wait for it. The tension would kill him. 

But Natasha wasn't finished yet, turning back to the street in front of them and smirking to herself as she prepared for Katya's response. ''And a car.''

It was as dramatic response too, exactly what she had expected.

Katya shot up, ignoring the pain shooting through her head. ''What?!'' she exclaimed.

''If you're getting a new one, I want a new one,'' Natasha shrugged.

For outsiders, it would have been weird to see such casual conversations about friends buying cars for each other but all the Avengers had so much money at their disposal they didn't know what to do with it. Tony paid them excessively, even though they had repeatedly told him not to do that. The problem was the man had so much money he could never get to the bottom of his wallet by himself. 

It wasn't a rarity Katya walked in some new expensive shoes or wore an expensive shirt. Natasha liked buying her expensive dresses even if she never had something to wear them to and the redhead always wound up stealing them for herself. 

Neither of them really valued money or expensive things, but they did like nice things and nice things cost money a lot of the time. Katya couldn't yet picture herself in a wedding dress and she wasn't one to throw a huge, extravagant wedding, but no costs would be spared to make it exactly as they wanted. 

Katya groaned again, something she did a lot this conversation. ''Ugh fine, which one do you want?''

''I haven't decided yet,'' Natasha answered mysteriously. That wasn't good. It usually meant she had to think about the perfect revenge, the perfect retribution to Katya's snitching.

Katya narrowed her eyes at the back of the redhead's head, her fiery red hair blown around by the wind. ''Is this the kind of revenge I need to have a knife under my pillow for?''

''Possibly,'' came the vague answer. 

''Thanks, Clint,'' Katya growled. The man shot her an apologetic look in the rearview mirror that didn't help anything. In fact, he had the nerve to smile slightly, which only caused her to narrow her eyes at him more.

She might act as if she was angry, and part of her was pissed at Clint for spilling the secret, but the joy of the secret's topic dominated. So Katya couldn't bring herself to be angry, not with all the butterflies in her stomach. She eventually found herself smiling too, keeping her eyes straight ahead into the distance so she wouldn't get nausea on top of her dizziness and headache.

''You still good?'' Natasha asked over her shoulder, gripping the door when Clint took a sharp left turn. The square got into view, the last lifeboat almost ready to deploy. 

Katya mentally checked herself and came to the conclusion she was far from ''good''. Fine maybe, but that was also questionable. ''I'm still breathing.''

''I'll take that as a yes.''

''We don't have a lot of time,'' Clint said worryingly to Natasha as the car rolled to a stop.

''So get your ass on a boat,'' she pressed, turning to Katya and cutting her off before she could open her mouth. ''You too, no ''buts''.'' Katya narrowed her eyes at her but the redhead was already gone to find the Hulk and turn him back to Banner. Normally she would have preferred to be there to protect her but there was no way Katya would last much longer until she would pass out. 

Clint helped the woman out of the car, almost supporting her entire weight simply because her legs couldn't support her anymore. Her eyes stayed on the retreating back of Natasha, as if she protected her that way. 

Clint softly pulled her out of her head. ''Come on.''

Katya gave in, too weak to protest, and let Clint lead her onto the boat, dropping her into the first empty seat he saw. 

It was a horror show. All the people around her were bleeding, had broken bones or were crying from pain and shock. One man was cradling a child, a beautiful girl with big blue eyes not unlike her own. These were so intense, so pure blue like ocean water, they stared straight into her soul. Because that's what they did, stare at her. 

At first Katya didn't know why, but then the girl pushed herself out of her father's grip and stumbled over to her, climbing onto the seat next to her. She couldn't have been older than four, although her eyes held so much intelligence she might as well have been sixty.

''Hello there beautiful,'' Katya smiled kindly, making sure the girl didn't fall off the chair. She wasn't sure the girl understood what she was saying. Katya spoke a lot of languages but Sokovian wasn't one of them. 

However, she didn't need to speak it to understand the single word the small blonde human muttered to her. ''Katya.'' Her tiny hand landed on Katya's chest, as if she meant to say: that's your name, I know who you are. Her eyes were filled with so much adoration and admiration they seemed to burst.

The girl didn't jump back in fear or surprise when Katya burst out in tears. She had no idea where it came from or why the girl's gesture hit her so hard. Maybe it was a confirmation she had changed, that she was no longer the criminal people feared but the hero kids looked up to. 

It was one thing to start believing in the goodness of your own heart, but to show it to the world enough that a little girl from the other side of the world whose home she had just blown up saw her as an example, her own personal hero, was something much bigger. It was more than Katya had ever hoped for.

Between her sobs, the Russian managed to smile, wiping the tears from her cheeks and leaving behind streaks of blood. Even that didn't scare the little girl who patiently waited for an answer. ''What's your name?'' she asked her. 

If she had understood her or figured out that would be her next logical question wasn't clear, but the girl answered confidently. ''Zasha.''

Katya smiled brightly, bopping the girl on her nose. ''That's beautiful, just like you.''

Zasha giggled adorably and Katya couldn't help but see Lila in the girl. She would never have kids of her own, but damn did she love them.

Over her shoulder she saw Zasha's father smile at the interaction. Somehow, he was far from worried the blood covered woman would hurt his daughter. Katya admired his trust in her, having difficulty trusting people herself, and felt she needed to do something more for the little girl than this short conversation, the language a barrier between them.

Out of the small bag hanging from her utility belt, she fished one of Natasha's Widow Bites. Of course, she couldn't exactly give it to Zasha while it was charged, so instead Katya activated it and threw it on a blanket next to her. The fabric didn't conduct the electricity but did allow the chip to turn harmless, save to give to a four year old. 

Katya offered it to her, Zasha's big blue eyes widening in surprise and shock. ''You know what this is?'' the woman asked, still sniffing from her crying fit. Zasha looked at it warily, unsure if it wouldn't hurt her. ''Go on, it's safe.''

Her small hands finally took the chip, staring at it as if Katya had given her the gift of a lifetime. Without warning, she threw her little arms around her neck, climbing on her lap. 

Katya stiffened, her entire body protesting against the weight on her chest, but quickly hugged the girl back. No words were spoken but they didn't need to. Both understood each other perfectly. 

''Stay strong, okay?'' Katya said to the girl when she finally pulled back, staring into her deep eyes. ''Don't let anyone stop you from becoming who you want to be.''

Confused, Zasha looked over her shoulder to her father, who quickly translated the words for her. Excessively nodding, she turned back to Katya, determination to obey her hero written all over her face. Then she climbed off, running back to her father to show him what she got. While she talked, the man sent Katya a thankful nod, accompanied by a genuine smile for making his little girl happy. 

Much time to reply Katya didn't have, because a woman suddenly yelled out loudly from behind her. ''Costel! We were in the market. Costel?!'' she called out hysterically. 

Clint, who stood watch and was already scanning the plaza for the boy, spotted him on the other side, hidden behind an upside-down car. Ever the hero, he didn't waste any time and sprinted across the square, leaving Katya no time to warn him.

She held her breath as he jumped over rubble, keeping an eye out for more robots. Now there were two people to worry about, her best friend and her fiancée, who had stayed away much longer than Katya would have liked. 

She heard the jet before she saw it, the big canons underneath firing all their ammo into the ground below. She had to watch as Steve and Thor got hit first, the smoke preventing her from seeing if they were actually hurt or if the bullets missed them. Then the jet, undoubtedly piloted by Ultron, went for Clint, who was ridiculously vulnerable.

It was horrible. Once again she was a passenger to the events happening around her. Zasha's eyes were on her, but Katya didn't care. She couldn't move anyway. Couldn't yell, not that that would have had any effect, couldn't stand up, her body too exhausted, and couldn't hide the terror on her face. 

The jet flew over, making its move, Clint and the child hidden by smoke and dust. 

Katya's heart was pounding in her throat, hands sweaty and shaking. When the dust settled, she had expected to find her friend with bullet holes in his chest, covering Costel with his body, but that was not what had happened.

Instead, it was a young boy, white hair visible from where she sat, whose body had caught all the bullets.

''You didn't see that coming?'' Pietro's weak voice whispered. Katya couldn't have heard it if she hadn't had worn an earpiece.

She closed her eyes, dropping her head to her chest. Pietro hadn't been a friend yet, but he was an ally. And the Avengers weren't always strong on allies. She was sure with more time, she would have liked him. His sarcasm was the same as hers, and he looked fun to be around.

Unfortunately, the universe didn't give that to them. 

Katya had read somewhere that the universe didn't want anything, but after today, she wasn't so sure. The universe was a greedy bitch who took what it wanted without caring what it left behind. 

This time, it left behind one half of a duo. A girl who had already lost everything, her parents, her home. Now she had also lost the one person who had made life slightly bearable. 

Katya knew her pain and swore she would to anything to help Wanda and not let her fall down the black nothingness she knew all too well.


	63. The Start Of Something Old

~~ One week later ~~

They did it, they had beaten Ultron, but at what cost?

Sokovia, at least the part that had been flying, was blown up by Tony and Thor before it could crash into the ground. It exploded with the loudest bang Katya had ever heard, and she had heard a lot of them in her life. 

The Hulk had brought Natasha to safety just before that, by jumping onto the Helicarrier from the rock, but had disappeared afterwards. She had been unable to turn him back to Banner and he had disppeared in the Quinjet after making it untracable. He was gone, lost. 

The world wasn't happy with them and it wasn't surprising. After all, this disaster wasn't just fixed by the Avengers, it was also caused by them.

Although everyone loved to blame Tony solely, every single Avenger was at fault. They were a team, no one was guilty on their own. Katya made sure to remind Tony of that whenever he needed it, since nobody else did. 

It was a PR mess according to Maria Hill, who, to no one's surprise, had been secretly working with Fury the entire time. The Avengers' image and reputation was damaged, people were calling for their arrests. And while Katya understood where they were coming from, she also knew that would never happen. 

The world needed the Avengers, even if they were cleaning up their own messes. 

Katya had a lot to process. Like expected, nightmares haunted her every single night. It had become so bad she had to knock herself out with sleeping pills to even fall asleep, only to wake up at least once a night screaming. Combined with Natasha's nightmares, it was a really fun time sleeping.

They had moved to the new Avengers Facility Tony had built at the edge of the city, next to a big lake. It was a beautiful place that provided Katya with a sense of peace every time she stepped outside and sat by the water, something she had done a lot. 

There was a lot to think about, and with a tired mind and an even more tired body, it was hard to concentrate. Every little sound made her jump and she had yelled at Tony when he jokingly called her Katariina instead of Katya. She knew it couldn't go on like this and eventually, she had let the man give her the phone number of his psychologist. She had to work on her PTSD and anxiety. 

''How did you sleep last night?''

The annoying clock on the wall interrupted the silence every second. That and the traffic downstairs. The rest of the office was light but warm. It had a cozy aura, somewhere Katya immediately felt comfortable. 

Surprisingly, Katya liked the woman sitting in front of her and didn't want to throw one of the couch pillows at her head. This was already her second visit this week, desperately needing it.

Katya bit her already non-existing nails, a bad habit she had picked back up. ''I don't think you want to hear ''3 hours'', but that's all I can give you.'' The couch was made of comfortable leather but it squeaked every time she moved her weight around. 

''I didn't ask how long, I asked how you slept,'' the dark-skinned woman asked, smiling kindly. She had that soft nature Katya wished she could have. Unfortunately, she yelled at others too much for that.

Katya sighed, sometimes wishing the woman couldn't read her as well as she could. ''Shitty. Nightmares as usual.''

''Same ones as always?''

Katya had refused to tell her what they were about, but since the woman knew who she was and undoubtedly knew about her past, it wasn't hard to guess what they were about.

Katya nodded. They were all of the visions Wanda had given her. The girl had moved in with the rest of the Avengers after Pietro's death and had actually offered Katya to take them out of her head but she had refused. It wasn't supposed to be that simple. Besides, she deserved to live with the memories.

The woman, Elizabeth - but she had told Katya to call her Eliza - wrote something down. ''And your girlfriend?''

Katya had to think about that. Natasha had nightmares too, but they didn't seem to be as bad as hers. ''Not as bad, but they're there.''

Eliza hummed, crossing her legs elegantly. She wasn't wearing an expensive pencil skirt with heels but just some jeans with sneakers, which made Katya feel a lot better, more like she was talking to a friend. ''Does that complicate your relationship?''

''No, on the contrary.'' Both woman had never felt closer to each other despite the occasional anxiety-fuelled lashing out. Now there were truly no secrets between them anymore. 

Eliza looked happy with that answer. She kept going on and on about needing other people's help and was delighted to hear Katya listened to her advice. ''Have you talked to her about them like I told you to do last time?''

''I did,'' Katya confirmed, thinking back to when she took Natasha aside with shaking hands and told her what she had seen, ''She now understands why I panic when I'm washing my hands or when I hear a child scream.'' Luckily, there were no kids in or around the Avengers Compound so that last one didn't happen often. 

''And the fire?'' Eliza asked. 

Katya chuckled, despite the fact it was far from funny. She had given the Avengers quite a scare when she panicked over a fire. ''Tony doesn't light the fireplace anymore.''

''That's good,'' Eliza complimented. ''Identify the triggers and take steps to limit the occurence or impact of them.''

Katya nodded silently, remembering the things she had read online. She was determined to learn to live with it and had been working out a lot outside, running her laps around the compound each morning with the orange sun on her face and the fresh air in her lungs. It helped a lot. 

What may sound weird but had also helped was that Katya had dyed her hair back to brown again. Every time she had looked in the mirror, her blonde strands had reminded her of Katariina, the powerless woman under HYDRA's control, the one who killed children. 

Brown hair was Katya, free to think and do as she pleased. No longer the scared little girl who turned into a monster and became a terrorist's slave. It was a small difference but to her, it meant the world.

After the session, Katya had to always sit in her car for a couple minutes to gather her thoughts. It felt good to get help, better than the first time when she cried for half an hour afterwards and felt horrible. Now she did some of the breathing exercises she had also been taught by Eliza to calm her down and started the motor.

She couldn't help but smile at the sound and the open-mouthed looks she got from the people on the street. The bright orange car and the roar that came from the exhaust were impossible to miss. 

With high speed - but at the speed limit, she didn't want to die because of a car accident - Katya sped back to the compound, calling Natasha to let her know she'd be at the agreed spot in town in five minutes. The redhead needed to run some errands in the city so Katya had dropped her off on the way to therapy and was now picking her up too.

Of course, Natasha could have driven her own car or steal one of Tony's but moments to themselves were scarce with a whole team wanting all kinds of things from them the whole day, dragging them into their own problems and the new assignments the Avengers were already looking at. They never had a moment of peace.

It was a beautiful day, the sun shining brightly through the windshield. It wasn't too warm, but warm enough for a thin jacket instead of a heavy coat. The weather didn't match with Katya's emotions, but it felt good to have the sun on her face and the windowns down, the wind blowing through her dark hair. 

Not unlike Natasha had once done to Steve in Washington, Katya rolled up to the curb and whistled at her fiancée. ''Hello there beautiful. Do you need a ride?''

Natasha threw her a nasty look, rolling her eyes at the theatrics but secretly happy Katya was able to joke. She didn't really show it, but she was incredibly worried about her. The dark circles couldn't even be hidden by makeup anymore and her nails were a mess, but there was a slight spark in her eyes that had been missing since Sokovia.

''Shut up,'' the redhead said as she stepped in, placing the shopping bags by her feet, the sports seat hugging her body tightly. She had gotten used to Katya's dark hair and wasn't bothered by it in the least. Whatever made her happiest.

They had finally told the other Avengers about the engagement, everyone really happy for them of course, but had decided to wait with the wedding. Wanda was still mourning her brother, half the Avengers were struggling with the things they'd seen, Thor needed to go back to Asgard and Tony and Clint were also leaving the team. Like Katya, they had a hard time dealing with it all.

So they had decided to wait until the timing felt right. Honestly, Katya wasn't mad about it. She wasn't in any state of mind to plan a wedding. When she did finally marry the love of her life, she wanted it to be right, everything.

Besides, there was no rush. Both women were only thirty-one so they expected to live for a couple years longer at least. 

Katya made sure to show off her car when driving away, giving the people who were watching a show. She could feel Natasha roll her eyes, even though she always did the exact same. 

The radio played some R&B and Katya softly hummed along. ''You get everything you needed?'' Although the silence between them was always comfortable and neither felt the need to fill it, she did need a distraction from her thoughts. 

Natasha hummed, elbow on the door and head resting in her hand. Her red hair was shining as always, perfectly curled, but that didn't fool Katya. There were also dark circles under her eyes, the green holding a certain dullness. ''Had to fight a guy to get the last chocolate.''

Katya chuckled, mentally picturing the fight in her head. The man wouldn't stand a chance, no matter who he was. ''Would have loved to see that.''

''Oh I'm sure,'' Natasha smirked, checking the time on the car's dashboard. ''Let's hope the boys haven't left yet.''

Thor and Tony were leaving today, Clint having left a couple days prior, eager to spend time with his family. 

Katya was going to miss them, slightly feeling the Avengers were falling apart, although she knew they would always be there for her if she needed them. 

''Nah,'' Katya said, knowing that chance was very small, ''they can't leave without saying goodbye to their favorite spies.''

Spies, although they had turned more into soldiers while working for the team. At SHIELD, they had truly been spies, sent on missions to retrieve information or silently take out someone in a house full of security. 

Sometimes Katya missed that. The tension of game. Now it was more, storming the building and killing everyone in sight. Not that she hated it, it was just a little boring. She really wished there would come an opportunity to spy again, although she wasn't exactly anonymous anymore. Everyone knew who she was, which meant getting into parties or sneaking past guards unseen was almost impossible.

''I'll miss them,'' Natasha admitted. This had become their new normal, spilling their thoughts everywhere and anytime. That filter had been barely there between each other, now it was truly crumbling down. 

Katya raised a joking eyebrow. ''Even Tony?''

''Especially Tony,'' she confessed. ''He is aggravating to the bone and I want to strangle him half the time, but he's fun.'' She chuckled before her next words. ''That's not a word to describe Rogers.''

''Oh come on, you love the guy. Besides, we have a whole new team now. I'm sure at least one of them is fun,'' Katya tried. ''Sam is fun.''

''You and Sam in one compound, I'm already tired,'' Natasha sighed. 

Katya laughed. She was looking forward to working with Sam, living in the same building. As they had found out during their mission at the fall of SHIELD, they had the same humor. It was that really annoying, dad joke, sarcastic kind of humor everyone rolled their eyes at. No doubt the Avengers would be victim to some pranks every now and then.

''Don't worry.'' Katya's tone was overly sweet, mimicking that of a teacher to a child. ''I have enough time left for you.''

Natasha hated that tone and she was quick to show it. ''You better or I'll kick him out.''

''Him and not me?'' Katya asked teasingly, testing how far she could take this. ''That's good to know.''

However, Natasha wasn't one to bite easily, responding in that same dry tone she always had in teasing conversations like this. ''Don't test your luck. Remember, when we're married, you're stuck with me.''

Every time that subject came up, Katya got butterflies in her stomach. Excited butterflies reminding her once again how much she was ready to tie the knot. ''Not yet Romanova, not yet.''

They drove further in silence, Katya stopping for a red light as Natasha's phone chimed in her pocket. She opened it, sitting a little straighter in her seat when she saw who it was from. ''It's Laura.''

Katya, distracted by the traffic, managed to throw a look on the screen while speeding away at green light. ''Did she finally send a photo?''

There was no response from Natasha, but a sound came from her phone, spoken in Laura's voice. ''Say hi to Auntie Nat and Kat!''

Katya smiled at the sound only, not being able to see the video at the angle the phone was held. Natasha did the same, but had the most unexpected response to it Katya had ever expected. It was just one word, meant teasingly but sounding rude. 

''Fat.''

Katya gasped, almost swerving into another lane in shock and surprise. ''Nat!'' She exclaimed reprimandingly. ''You can't say that! He named him after us!''

Before he left, Clint had once again promised Katya she'd be included in the baby's name. Not that he dared not to do it. He'd have not one but two very pissed Russians at his door an hour after he would make the name known. 

''Yeah, he also named his chickens after us,'' Natasha answered dryly, reminding Katya of the time they had been at Clint's farm and he had proudly shown them his new chickens, each one carrying the name of an Avenger.

Katya threw her a look. ''Show me the video.''

''You're driving.''

''Show me,'' she repeated sternly, not in the mood for Natasha's games, not when it came to seeing her new nephew. 

''You're the one who's always annoying me about the ''don't text and drive'' rule.''

When Natasha had the audacity to smirk, Katya lost all her patience. ''Just show me the damn baby,'' she growled. 

Natasha laughed some more but finally showed Katya the video and although she had to switch between the road and the phone, it was enough to see. 

''Nathaniel Kato Pietro Barton,'' it said on the boy's onesie, making Katya smile. Not only did she threaten Clint about her name being included, she was also happy she could tell Wanda this good news. 

Slowly, the brunette and the witch had become closer, although there was a long way to go. After Pietro's death, Katya had sworn to be there for Wanda. Because if there was one person who knew everything about loss, it was her. Wanda was about the same age Katya was when she lost Natasha, so she could feel her pain.

It was a mutual search how they could start to trust each other. While Wanda may be a bit more trusting by nature, she had a hard time trusting Katya, which wasn't a surprise because she did point a gun at her. Multiple times. 

Katya mainly had to get over her fear of the witch. More specifically, the fear of her powers and what they could do. 

It was still a long journey, but Katya needed another woman to talk to who wasn't her fiancée and Wanda needed the same. Someone she could gossip about girl stuff with and talk trash about the male members of the team. Having boys on the team was great and all, but sometimes Katya wanted to talk to a woman.

''He's so cute, we'll have to visit soon.'' Katya drove up the long driveway to the compound, complete with water tight security you didn't see anything off besides the front gate, but knew it was there. No one could get to the building without permission.

Natasha watched the neatly trimmed green grass on both sides of the road. ''I don't think that's going to happen any time soon. Cap has drafted us a pretty tight training schedule.''

The gravel was enough to alert the three men in the front yard to their arrival, but Katya made sure to rev the engine for more drama. ''Steve has to relax. We just saved the world, again. We deserve a break.''

''Try telling him that.''

All eyes were on both of them as they got out, the three men closest to them and also some of the trainees above stopped and stared. That was, until their trainer yelled at them to keep running. Katya didn't miss training and getting yelled at for not performing good enough.

''Hello boys,'' Katya smiled, casually throwing the door of her expensive car closed. Natasha rolled her eyes beside her at the drama.

''Miss Petrova, always a pleasure,'' Tony joked sarcastically when they joined him. ''I see you like your new car.''

''I do,'' she said genuinely, ''thanks again.''

Tony shrugged, happy to make his friends happy. ''Hey, a promise is a promise.'' 

''So, what did we miss?'' Katya clapped her hands together, looking between the billionaire, supersoldier and the god. If you would have told her ten years ago she would be standing here, talking to them, she would have laughed in your face. 

''Thor was just about to leave,'' Steve answered. As always, he had his uniform on. It was a good thing he had more of them, otherwise it would never be washed.

The god nodded, feeling slightly sorry he had almost left without saying goodbye to the women on his team. ''Ah, yes, but not without saying goodbye to you of course.''

Katya shook his hand, slightly cringing at how hard he squeezed hers. ''You don't have to try and sweet talk me Odinson, I know you're a busy man.''

Thor nodded thankfully, once again admiring the brunette's strength and confidence. She didn't look to be afraid of anyone, even a god from another planet. 

''You think you can find out what's coming?'' Steve interrupted their moment, continuing on the conversation from before Katya joined.

''I do. Besides this one,'' Thor softly clapped Tony on his chest,'' there's nothing that can't be explained.''

He smiled and nodded everyone a goodbye, stepping away and raising his weapon in the air. Not even a second later, a bright rainbow light came from the sky, engulfing him and disappearing afterwards, leaving nothing but a burn mark in the grass.

''That man has no regard for lawn maintenance,'' Tony said bitterly, staring at the ground before turning around and pressing a button on his car key, his expensive Audi rolling out of the built-in garage, stopping next to Katya's car. ''I'm gonna miss him though. And you're gonna miss me. There's gonna be a lot of manful tears.''

Natasha tapped Katya's shoulder, nodding with her head towards the compound. She hated goodbyes and knew they would see Tony again soon, so she just wanted to get changed and drop her purchases off inside.

The brunette nodded, whispering she would be there soon. She watched Natasha go and caught up with the two men.

''I will miss you, Tony,'' Steve said honestly, which slightly surprised Katya. They didn't seem to work most of the time, clashing often, but Steve had a deep respect for the man and the reverse was also true.

''Yeah? Well, it's time for me to tap out.'' He stopped next to his car, looking between his two friends sadly. ''Maybe I should take a page out of Barton's book and build Pepper a farm, hope nobody blows it up.''

''The simple life,'' Steve concluded, although there was no sadness or jealousy. 

''You'll get there one day.''

''I don't know,'' he denied honestly, ''family, stability. The guy who wanted all that went in the ice seventy-five years ago. I think someone else came out.''

Tony took in his answer and turned to Katya. ''What about you Petrova? You and Romanoff not ready to venture out into the world?''

''Nah,'' she shook her head, ''Nat and I aren't done avenging. Maybe someday, but not yet.''

Tony opened his car door, stopping before stepping in. ''You alright?'' he asked worryingly, seeing the sad expression on Steve's face and the acceptance on Katya's.

Steve looked down at Katya, seeing the same peace in her eyes. ''We're home.''

He was satisfied by that answer, closing the door after him and driving off after one last wink. Through his open window, he called out, ''I expect an invitation to that wedding!''

Katya chuckled, watching the bright colored car disappear in the distance. 

''So, are you ready to get to work?'' Steve cut off the silence. 

Katya was always ready to get to work. After a week of rest, she was itching to get to work actually, training the new Avengers. She could use a distraction. ''As ready as I'll ever be.''

Steve lead them through the hallways of the building. They were built up logically, but everyone had gotten lost at some point, learning to mentally map it. ''Do you think Wanda is ready?''

Katya had to think about that. Unbeknownst to Wanda, she evaluated the woman constantly, both physically and mentally, to see how she was really doing. It was good the Sokovian was such a bad liar. ''I think it is still too early after her brother's death, but she can't stay in her room all day. It isn't good for her. She'll have to learn to deal with it like the rest of us.''

''I appreciate you looking after her,'' Steve said gently. ''She can really use your help.''

''Believe it or not but she helps me too. Maybe I can finally start getting over the past.'' Without another word, Katya disappeared down the hallway to her apartment. Tony had made sure to build every Avenger an apartment and not just a bedroom, giving everyone more privacy instead of having to share the kitchen and common room. They were little islands of privacy. 

The past did that funny thing called repeating itself. Usually that didn't mean anything good, but this time it gave Katya the opportunity to do things differently. To help Wanda instead of hating her for the previous choices she had made in life. To be there for the girl who had lost everything like she had.

She changed into her suit. The one with the design Tony had called ''old'' already. Meaning she could expect a package on her doorstep soon with a new one from the billionaire with a lot of time on his hands. 

It wasn't long until she found Natasha afterwards, the spy lost in her own head as she stared at the wall of the huge room whereof Katya didn't know the purpose. It was all black, glass railings on both sides to keep you from falling onto the level below, which was the hangar. 

The brunette leaned against the doorframe, hands crossed over her chest as she blended in with the black wall next to her.

''You want to keep staring at the wall, or do you want to go to work?'' she called out, startling Natasha out of her head. ''I mean, it's a pretty interesting wall.''

''I thought you and Tony were still gazing into each other's eyes,'' Natasha joked, smiling when she saw who had interrupted her moment.

Katya chuckled, joining her side. ''If someone was gazing into Tony's eyes, it was Steve.''

''You guys ready?'' The man in question called from another entrance, on the far side of the room.

They walked over to him, Natasha shooting back into her more professional mode after the jokes from before. ''How do we look?''

Steve handed her the tablet, which she nonchalantly looked at. ''Well, we're not the '27 Yankees.''

She shrugged, giving the device to Katya next. ''We've got some hitters.''

''They're good,'' Steve started carefully, ''They're not a team.''

''Let's beat 'em into shape.''

Captain pushed the double doors across the hallway open, leading to a small balcony overlooking the hangar below. 

Rhodey was there in his War Machine suit. Wanda in her new suit, landing on the ground after having hoovered over the floor. Sam followed her example, landing softly and withdrawing his wings. Vision was also there, the one Katya was most wary off. It was hard to categorize him and hard to trust him if she didn't know what exactly he was.

It was impossible to ignore everything he had done to help them beat Ultron though, so she had accepted it quickly. With four people missing, they needed every body in this fight.

Katya felt a feeling of pride and happiness, looking down at her new team. Like the Captain had said, it wasn't a team yet, but it did mean a new challenge. Everyone needed something new every now and then. Now, they didn't only have a new facility but also a complete new team with people who could bring new ideas and skills. 

She was looking forward to the future because even though there was a greater threat looming over the Earth, a threat Thor was investigating, for now it was safe. 

And safe was something she hadn't been often in her life.

''Avengers...!''


	64. Hunting Season

''Should have known I would find you here.'' Natasha leaned against the doorpost of the gym door, arms loosely crossed over each other and a smile on her face.

Katya helped Wanda up from the mat, giving the woman a hand without thinking about it anymore. A year ago, she wouldn't have even thought about standing close to her. 

''Please tell me you need her. I could really use a break.'' Wanda's Sokovian accent was a lot less audible than before. She had trained for hours, doing different vocal exercises to get rid of it or at least to hide it as much as possible. A spy shouldn't have a distinguishable voice. Blending in, that's what it was all about.

Katya chuckled between the sips she took from her water, the brown strands from her hair sticking to her forehead. ''Oh come on, you're doing great.''

Wanda sent her a glare, her chest going up and down quickly because she was so exhausted. ''I haven't been able to knock you down once. Not once in an entire year.''

An entire, exhausting, long year full off ups and downs. It took a lot of getting used to the new team. The original Avengers had been so well-adapted to each other, knowing each other through and through. Katya liked her new team, but she still didn't trust everyone as much as she should. Vision, for example, was still a big question mark. Something about his being made her nervous.

''I have trained my entire life, Wanda,'' Katya once again reminded her. The Sokovian was full of doubt and speeches like these weren't unusual. ''You have only just begun. Trust me, when I say you're doing great, you are.''

Wanda nodded in thanks, sitting down on one of the benches along the wall. Training was tiring, but she liked it. She had to learn to fight without her powers. Who knew, maybe one day she would have to do without. ''Are we still doing movie night tonight? I saw this horror movie the other day which I think you'll like.''

''That depends on what Romanoff is here for,'' Katya responded, raising an eyebrow to the woman in question. Natasha's hair had grown so long it reached far past her shoulders. It was no longer in tighter curls, but instead looser ones. Katya liked it, but preferred her shorter hair.

Her own was still as short as it always was, just above her shoulders. It wasn't smart, a spy should change their looks every few months, but she liked it this way.

Natasha shrugged as she sat next to Wanda on the bench, her back against the wall. She looked tired, but that may have had something to do with the mission from two days ago. ''Nothing really, I needed to get away from the guys.''

''What are they arguing about this time?'' Wanda laughed. Sam, Steve, Rhodey and Vision were always bickering about random stuff. It was light-hearted but it did get very loud sometimes. 

''Sam convinced Steve he doesn't vote.'' It was extremely funny to see Steve get riled up and hear him talk about the importance of democracy and how dangerous it is if citizens don't take their rights to vote.

Katya chuckled, sitting down in front of the two women on the mat, leaning back on her hands. ''He jumped into one of his patriotic speeches again?''

''Uhu,'' Natasha hummed amused, ''Rhodey is team Sam, Vision is citing all the reasons why voting is important.'' 

A comfortable silence fell between the three of them when the laughing subsided. They had become very close. Being the only three women on the team, you had to stick together. 

Natasha watched Katya as the brunette crossed her legs and studied her nails. They were short, but she had stopped biting them off months ago.

Luckily, she was doing a lot better. Therapy had helped a lot and so had the two team mates in front of her. They had both gotten a lot healthier mentally too. Wanda thought about her brother every day and missed him heavily, but her new friends had made life a lot easier. She didn't know what she would have done without Katya's help and midnight hugs when her crying woke her up.

Clint and Tony had visited a couple of times. Katya had gotten to see her nephew but hadn't had much time to play with him. The Avengers were on the hunt for Brock Rumlow. Yeah, he apparently didn't die when the Triskelion collapsed on top of him and had been a real pain in their ass.

He was after something, but the team couldn't figure out what it was. Every lead was a dead end, leading to them flying around the world every week without getting anywhere.

''What are you thinking about?'' Natasha eventually asked, seeing how deep in thought Katya was.

''Rumlow,'' she admitted, looking up from her hands. ''How hard can one man be to catch.''

''You of all people know how hard that is,'' Natasha joked, thinking back to when she had had a lot of trouble catching Katya before the woman was a SHIELD Agent. Neither one of them tried to think about that period too much. 

Katya because she was alone, being hunted and doubting every day if it was all still worth it. 

Natasha because she almost killed the woman she loved so much after she had lost her years prior. She didn't think she could have lived with herself had she actually put that bullet in Katya's head that day. 

''But the lead I'm following now looks really promising.''

Wanda turned her head to her, skepticism written all over her face. ''That's what you said about the last twenty leads.''

Katya gestured to her as if to say: what she said.

Natasha glared at both of them, sliding a bit further down in her seat while letting out a sigh. ''I know, it's frustrating.''

''We'll get him,'' Wanda reassured her calmly, which strangely enough worked. How Wanda, the teenager, had become the parent was unclear, but she was damn good at making people feel better.

''We need to.'' Katya pulled the hair tie from her hair and ran her fingers through it. ''He's planning something big, I can feel it. We need to find out what it is.''

The gym door swung open for the second time, revealing a frustrated Steve. The women had a hard time suppressing their smiles. It was too funny to see the effect of Sam's jokes written all over his body language. 

''Rogers,'' Katya greeted him as he walked in, his sports shoes silent on the floor, ''here to join the pity party?''

He threw her a glare, but it didn't hold the power to shut her up. ''To get rid of my frustrations.'' He moved to one of the machines in the space, but Katya had another idea. She was far from tired from training Wanda and she couldn't get Steve to train with her often. He liked training alone but Katya could use a new challenge.

''How about you take those frustrations out on me?'' She rose from the mat, challenging the supersoldier with her hands on her hips. ''Let's go a few rounds.''

If Steve loved something, it was a challenge. With a smirk, he abandoned the machine and dropped his towel and water bottle on the side of the mat. ''You sure you're up for it?''

''Ouch Rogers, that hurts,'' Katya feigned hurt. ''I could use some real competition.''

Without seeing Wanda's face, she knew exactly what it would look like. The woman would know it was just a joke and could appreciate it. She had gotten familiar with Katya's sense of humor by now.

Natasha sat a little straighter, ready to take in the fight on this front row seat. It wasn't often she could watch Katya fight someone else. They mostly fought each other, since their skill levels were the same and therefore meant real competition. But the redhead was always too busy with the fight to admire Katya's fighting style.

''This is going to be beautiful,'' she muttered to no one in particular.

The two Avengers circled each other, Katya with an enthusiastic, almost predator-like look in her eyes, Steve's face distorted into pure concentration. He knew she would be a difficult fight, even with the advantage of his height. Almost a foot he had on the woman.

But Katya was lightning fast and agile, a cheetah jumping her prey. It was incredibly fascinating to watch Steve catch her fists and feet right before they hit him. He barely had time to throw in his own jabs, that's how aggressive and offensive she was.

Wanda watched in amazement while Natasha's sharp eyes took in every movement, a smile playing on her lips. How the brunette fought was pure art, the influences of her years of forced ballet lessons woven into her moves.

Rogers was a good fighter too, but he was no spy who had been trained since tiny hands could wrap around someone's throat. 

Katya almost had him a couple times, but his strength was her real competition. He could pry her arms from his neck easily and drag her off his back. But that was before he lost concentration for a second, left a gap to his throat and Katya took that opportunity. 

Steve doubled over and gasped for air. Now he was too distracted to jump over her legs. Without mercy, she swept them away from under his body and towered over him victorious.

Steve groaned and was bummed about losing, but nodded to Katya in respect as she offered her hand. 

''Wanda, what was his mistake?'' Katya turned it into a lesson, waiting for the woman's answer patiently. She found she really loved teaching others new things. The role of trainer suited her. It also helped she knew exactly how not to do it, using her past experiences and turning them into something positive.

Wanda thought about it, replaying the last few moments back. ''He held his hands too low,'' she concluded.

Katya nodded, very pleased with her student. ''Sorry Steve, better luck next time.'' She smiled at the supersoldier and leader of her team, but she mostly saw him as a friend.

Steve didn't seem too sad he lost. He knew how skilled she was and held a deep respect for the Russian, who hadn't obtained those skills in a nice way. He started wrapping his hands in tape. The fight may have been intense, but he was far from tired with the serum running through his veins. ''Wanda, will you be cooking tonight?'' He glanced at the woman by the wall.

Wanda was the best cook out of everyone. She loved making her Sokovian specialties for the team. It was always a treat when it was her turn to provide dinner.

Enthusiastic, she perked up. Cooking her delicious meals was the least she could do to thank the Avengers for taking her in. ''I am. I could use some help cutting the vegetables though.''

Katya grabbed her hoodie from the floor, pulling it over her head. ''You need someone who's good with a knife, Nat's your friend.''

Natasha lightly glared at her. She hated cooking and most of the time bribed other people to do it for her. Or she threatened to cut Sam's wings off if he didn't take her shift. ''I stab people with them. I don't use them to cut carrots.'' 

Katya sent her a look, telling her to play nice and help Wanda, who watched the redhead hopefully. With a sigh, Natasha gave in. ''Fine, what time?''

~~~~~

Just before dinner, when the sun was starting to set, Katya pulled the door of the facility closed behind her. It was a chilly afternoon, so she pulled her leather jacket a bit tighter to her body. 

The trainees doing their afternoon training nodded and smiled at her as they passed. It was nice having lots of people around, but she needed time alone too. And to be able to think, she needed silence. That was found by the giant lake adjoining the building. 

The sun set in the lake, giving it a beautiful orange glow that for some reason really calmed her. The soft lapping of water against the shore with in the background, very far away, the sounds of the city. A truck honking or a police siren, but besides that, everything was peaceful.

In Katya's mind however, it was far from peaceful. During the day, when she was busy with training and researching leads, she could push it away. But now she was being forced to deal with them head on. It was still quite new for her, actually dealing with the things she was feeling and thinking, but it had brought so much serenity. 

She truly felt lighter than ever, ready to take on everything the world would throw at her. The weight on her shoulders was lifted and every morning she stood up looking forward to the day. Of course she had relapses, days where it was all too much, but she had amazing friends who knew exactly when to give her space and when to drag her out of her room.

With her arms wrapped around her knees, chin on top of them, she watched the reflection of the sky in the water. The grass beneath her was cold but it didn't bother her. The wind played with her hair, which was still wet from the shower she had taken previously. 

With a smile, she thought back to her birthday last month. She hadn't wanted a party or even gifts, so the Avengers had all gathered together at the end of the night, abandoning their work for once, and drank till they were blind drunk. Everyone regretted it in the morning, especially both Russians who had dared each other to a drinking competition to see who could hold more liquor. 

Katya had been the one to give in. She knew from the start it would be tricky, since she knew how good Natasha was with her alcohol, but what the hell, it was her birthday.

Katya felt someone behind her before the sound of their footsteps in the short grass reached her ears. For some reason, everyone's presence felt different to her, as if she could feel whose aura was being projected. 

''Dinner's ready.'' Sam wasn't surprised Katya didn't jump. She didn't move at all, did nothing to acknowledge his presence except hum softly. 

She threw one last look at the lake, which was now a deep blue since the sun had disappeared. Her favorite time of day had begun. With a quiet sigh, she raised from the grass, brushing the blades of grass off her jeans. A look on her watch revealed she had sat there for almost an hour. Time went past so quickly every time she sat there.

Sam smiled at her when her eyes met his. He had his soft side too and was quite good at knowing when to joke and when not to. This was one of those moments he didn't. 

Silently, they walked back over the dark ground, towards the light of the compound, until Sam cleared his throat and asked carefully, ''So, how are the preparations coming?''

Katya and Natasha had lightly started scribbling down ideas for their big day. It wasn't going to be anything fancy, just a nice party between friends, but a lot of things needed to be organized before they could say ''I do''. 

Natasha had proposed to elope, get married with just the two of them and a marriage officiant somewhere, but Katya wanted to do this right. She knew somewhere deep inside her fiancée, there was a girl who had imagined her wedding day at night, hoping she would get there someday. 

''Calm your ass down Sam,'' Katya chuckled, ''nothing is determined yet. Besides, I'm pretty sure Rumlow would blow everything up anyway. So until we have him locked up, nothing's happening.''

Sam hung his shoulders, stuffing his hands in his pockets. ''That sucks, I was looking forward to a good party.''

''You want a party, say it and I'll call Tony to throw you one,'' Katya joked, the warm air inside the compound hitting her like a warm blanket. It really did feel like home and every time she stepped inside the giant lobby, she took a moment to appreciate it. All this, the Avengers had Tony to thank for. 

The smell of Wanda's amazing cooking lead them to the kitchen, chatter of the other Avengers traveling through the halls. 

''Nah,'' Sam countered, ''I'm still recovering from your birthday.''

Everyone was already there when the two of them walked in, the steaming pans in the middle of the large table. With seven people, it was a full table. 

''How many beers did you have?'' Katya teased him loudly, redirecting everyone's attention to them. ''Six? Six and you were gone.'' She pulled the chair next to Natasha -her chair- backwards.

''Hey, I'm a lightweight okay?'' Sam plopped down in his chair across from her, a little to the right. 

Now that everyone was there, they could start eating. Katya scooped some of Wanda's delicious food on her plate and took a sip from her water. ''Sure, if that's what you want to call it.''

Work related talk was strictly forbidden at the dinner table. It was the most relaxed moment of the day. Everyone made time for dinner, sitting down to enjoy the food and each other's company. These moments had to be cherished because their job was unpredictable and it wasn't uncommon someone got called away from the table.

Tonight was one of those times where that happened. Right before dessert, Natasha's phone chimed in her pocket. Everyone had their phones on silent, only important messages were allowed to come through. 

So everyone fell silent as she pulled it out of her pocket, Katya's fork hanging in the air somewhere between her plate and mouth. 

For a second she thought it might be Clint, calling her to tell her something had happened to his family, or Tony who needed help, but it was a notification from FRIDAY, who had been the replacement for JARVIS since he was now inside Vision's head.

''Rumlow's been spotted,'' Natasha breathed, abruptly rising from her chair, the food on her plate long forgotten.

Steve dropped his knife, shooting into soldier mode. ''Where?''

''Lagos, Nigeria.''

Nervous glances were shared, especially coming from Wanda. This would be her biggest mission yet and it wasn't weird she was nervous. 

''When?'' Steve asked sternly.

Natasha tapped on her phone before looking up at him. ''Just now.''

''Alright. Get what you need, we leave in five.''

Everyone stood, chairs scraping over the floor. Everything was left behind, waiting to be cleaned up by the cleaning crew. There was no time to waste. This was the first time in months Rumlow had shown his face. It could be a trap, but they were so desperate they followed every single lead at this point.

So after Katya had gathered all her stuff, the new suit Tony had made for her, grabbed her favorite weapons that weren't available on the Quinjet and stuffed her phone in her back pocket, they were off to Lagos, hopefully to finally get Rumlow. They could use some success.


	65. Waterloo

It was a beautiful day, sunny and warm. Not too warm you were sweating in a t-shirt, which was what Katya was used to when it came to Africa. 

She loved the continent. The pure, open people, the vivacity on the streets and in some cases, the lack of technology and good security. It was good for both her soul and the job. 

So that she was hauled up with Steve of all people in a small hotel room, keeping an eye on her fiancée and her best friend on the streets below, wasn't how she had wanted her next trip to this healing place to go. Steve, as always, was way too tense and serious, a sharp contrast to the usually sarcastic and outgoing Russian next to him.

Katya's short brown hair fell into her face as she peeked through the curtains. Healthy nerves danced through her body. She was ready for a fight.

''All right, what do you see?'' Steve asked Wanda. 

The woman was seated at a table of a nice, small café on the opposite side of the street. Her brown cap hid her face from her, but besides that, Katya had a good view of her. It made her feel a little bit better about sending the Sokovian into one of her biggest missions yet.

Contrary to Wanda, who blended in nicely, Natasha stuck out like a sore thumb despite the glasses and cap she had on. That red hair was simply not disguisable. She looked amazing however, in her light jacket and boots. Katya still couldn't believe she was going to marry her.

Wanda steered her coffee, slowly bringing it up to her lips so it wouldn't be too obvious she was talking to someone. A trick Katya had taught her, and she executed it perfectly. She looked over her shoulder casually to observe the tiny police station across the street. ''Standard beat cops. Small station. Quiet street. It's a good target.''

''There's an ATM in the south corner, which means...'' Steve trailed off, having her fill in the rest. Learning by doing was the best way. Katya could list a thousand tricks to help Wanda's spy work, but by doing it, she would know what worked and what didn't.

''Cameras,'' Wanda finished flawlessly. Katya couldn't help but be proud of her pupil. A year ago she almost had a panic attack in Sokovia and today she was sitting there calmly, acting perfectly normal.

Katya noticed something Wanda hadn't yet said. ''Both cross streets are one way,'' she hinted.

''So compromised escape routes.''

Katya nodded approvingly even though the woman couldn't see it. She took over from Steve, seeing as she was more skilled at this than him. ''Means our guy doesn't care about being seen, he isn't afraid to make a mess on the way out.'' She pulled the curtain open a little further, but not enough to alert the people down below. ''You see that Range Rover halfway up the block?''

Wanda's eyes flickered over to it, instantly spotting it. ''Yeah, the red one? It's cute.''

''You're right. It is cute.'' Katya couldn't help but joke, feeling the annoyance from Steve radiate off him. She had gotten used to his disapproving stares by now, since she was often the person on the other end of them.

''It's also bulletproof, which means private security, which means more guns, which means more headaches for somebody. Probably us.'' It was the first time Natasha had spoken up. And of course when she did, she did it with that sarcastic underlaying tone of hers while hiding her smirk behind her coffee cup. 

Wanda all but scoffed. ''You guys know I can move things with my mind, right?'' she bragged. Her powers had gotten so much more controlled and powerful. Katya was sure she could have ripped those giant worms during the Battle of New York right in half before they were even halfway through the space holes. Where was a witch when you needed one?

Natasha subtly turned around in her chair, glimpsing at the woman. ''Looking over your shoulder needs to become second nature.''

''Anybody ever tell you you're a little paranoid?''

Katya almost burst out laughing at Sam's dry voice, which didn't help prove her innocence. He was up on a roof somewhere, keeping overview on the whole mission. Who better to do that than a birdman?

''Not to my face. Why? Did you hear something?'' It was that Natasha sat with her back to Katya, otherwise she would have risked throwing a glare in her direction. 

''It wasn't me,'' Katya defended herself, trying to stay serious but unable to completely mask the playful tone in her voice. 

Steve all but sighed, shifting his weight from one leg to another. He must think he was working with a bunch of children. ''Eyes on target, folks. This is the best lead we've had on Rumlow in six months. I don't want to lose him.''

Once again, Sam was there with a sarcastic reply. ''If he sees us coming, that won't be a problem. He kind of hates us.''

Katya chuckled through her earpiece. ''Correction, he hates you. His fragile masculinity was broken when you beat him in that fight in the Triskelion.'' She raised her hands in surrender when Steve told her to be serious for a second. It was maybe best not to test his patience today since he was so on edge.

''I didn't beat him. I jumped ship before the building came down on me, he didn't.''

''Sam, see that garbage truck? Tag it.'' Steve steered the conversation back on track, an old, rusty garbage truck pushing through the streets roughly, impatiently. These were the kinds of details Katya perked up for. Things a normal person wouldn't even notice, wouldn't think twice about. But you always found something suspicious if you kept looking long enough. 

It wasn't long until Redwing -the stupid name Sam had given his little drone thingy- appeared, although nobody on the street saw or heard him. People generally were so unaware of the things happening around them. 

Redwing flew under the truck, scanning it for X-ray, the rest of the team patiently waiting. 

''That truck's loaded for max weight. And the driver's armed,'' Sam finally said. Katya knew what that meant before Natasha had said it.

''It's a battering ram.''

Great minds think alike.

''Go now,'' Steve ordered them, a plan forming in his head. 

''What?'' Wanda didn't understand, causing her to panic.

''He's not hitting the police,'' Katya replied, already halfway down the hallway of the hotel. Her footsteps were silent on the soft but worn carpet. It wasn't the nicest hotel, but they were forced to pick this one for the view. ''For Christ sake, why can't a mission ever go like we want it to?''

She pulled the hood of her jacket up to hide her face from the people inside, but why was she even trying when Steve caught up with her, dressed in full uniform with that Frisbee of Freedom in his hand. 

''Then it wouldn't be any fun,'' Natasha answered her, even though Katya didn't expect anyone to have heard her soft outburst. Through her comms, the redheads quick footsteps on the pavement accompanied her silent breathing. 

Katya set her first few steps outside when the truck crashed into the barrier in front of the Institute For Infectious Diseases, a loud boom echoing between the stone walls of the buildings around. She couldn't see it, not yet, but from the screaming of the people, she knew where to go. 

Behind her, Sam picked up Steve so he could fly him there, while Wanda, with the help of her powers, rose from the ground in the distance. 

Katya groaned in annoyance, picking up her pace. Luckily, she was a fast runner. ''How is it fair that I have to run there while you all fly there. Nat, where are you?''

Right then, a motorcycle rolled up next to her, a smirking Natasha steering the thing. It was a sight for sore eyes. ''Right here darling,'' she joked, causing Katya to roll her eyes.

Skillfully, Katya jumped on, wrapping her arms around her fiancée tightly. ''The hell did you find this?'' she yelled over the wind as the motor sped up. The citizens were definitely watching now. Even here they knew who the Avengers were, and when two of them sped past you, weaving through traffic, how could you not stare?

Natasha narrowly avoided a stall with fruit. ''I stole it!''

Of course she did. This time however, Katya didn't protest. Over Natasha's shoulder, she saw a big cloud of green gas twirling up in the atmosphere, like a tornado but going up. The red wisps laced through it betrayed who was responsible for it and the brunette felt a rush of pride.

''Rumlow has a biological weapon,'' Steve announced over the comms. Despite infiltrating the building by himself, he wasn't out of breath. 

''We're on it,'' Natasha answered without having to clarify what ''we'' meant. Everyone knew the Russians stuck together on missions. ''I'm gonna need you to jump,'' she yelled over her shoulder, driving the bike through the now broken entrance and onto the small plaza behind, acting as a parking lot for the institutes trucks. 

Of course the second Katya jumped off, Natasha crashed the bike. The bike she stole. It smashed into a man, sending him flying. She sent one of her Widow Bites into the next man, kicking the third one in his chest and into the truck behind. This all was done before Katya was back on her feet, pulling her gun out the back of her jeans.

She shot a guy who wanted to sneak up on Natasha as she fought, kicking car doors into people's faces and slamming their guns into their noses. But pretty soon Katya was met with her own resistance, three guys circling around her like hyenas.

She shot the first one in his neck before he knew what had happened, grabbed the knife from the inside of her jacket and threw it into the second man's thigh. The third one she disarmed with a simple kick to his rifle before ducking down and sweeping his legs away. The legs were always easiest while fighting men and women in body armor. 

They relied too much on the protection on their top half they forgot their bottom half. Same with Steve, who forgot his shield was kind of small for such a big guy and only hid his chest when standing up. 

The second man fell unconscious with a kick to his face, definitely breaking his nose in the process. Now there was only the third man left, who was silently crying about his thigh. Katya plucked the knife out of his leg, threw the man over her shoulder and angled the weapon so that it slipped under his armor and as close to his heart as possible. 

This was all done without breaking a sweat. But because she had been distracted, she hadn't noticed Rumlow had thrown Natasha into one of the trucks together with a grenade. 

Katya jumped when the explosion rang out and spun around so quickly she was a blur. ''Nat!'' She took two other man down on her way over, crouching down next to a coughing Natasha who turned on her back to get more air. ''You okay?''

''Amazing,'' she groaned, accepting the hand Katya offered her.

''Sam. He's in an AFV heading north,'' Steve reported. He looked to have taken a hit, but he was Captain America, he could handle a lot.

Katya saw Natasha eye the bike she had crashed earlier. It may have a few scratches and bumps, but it would be fine to drive. She helped the redhead get it up and took her place behind her again. Together they sped towards the market, following Sam who flew above their heads.

Sam scanned the place for the hostiles. One of them had the weapon, an innocent looking tube with a deadly disease. Who knew how many people Rumlow could wipe out with it. ''I got four, they're splitting up.''

Natasha underran the bike in a couple cars, running over the their hoods. ''I got the two on the left.'' 

Katya followed but split off when her boots hit the ground. ''I got the right.'' 

The crowd in the market was suffocating. It almost caused her to go claustrophobic. To fight it, she kept her sharp eyes on the men in black. It was too risky to shoot at them between all these people. She would have to fight them hand to hand. 

''They ditched their gear. It's a shell game now. One of them has the payload,'' Steve spoke in the brunette's ear as she rudely pushed people aside and skillfully jumped over crates and stalls. 

Katya sped up when she left the market and had one of her two men right in front. She was faster because he made the mistake of looking over his shoulder, which slowed him down. With a powerful jump on his back, she tackled him to the ground, punching him unconscious. 

She was about to search him when a flash of black in the corner of her eye caused her to duck. Just in time because a bullet flew right over her head. Pulling out her own gun, she shot the mercenary in his knee and then his shoulder. 

Quickly, she crouched down and patted the men's clothes and backpacks for the weapon, but came up empty. She cursed softly. ''Nat, I'm empty.''

''Don't worry, I got it!'' The woman yelled in her ear. She was slightly out of breath from running and jumping and Katya wasn't about to sit there and wait. So she followed the yells of people and the crashing noises from the center of the market. People threw nasty looks at her as she crashed into them, but were quick to cover them up when they saw who she was.

''Drop it. Or I'll drop this. Drop it!'' A man yelled loudly. 

Katya arrived at the scene in the middle of a stand-off. One of the men had a gun pointed at Natasha, while she did the same to him. The second man was the real threat though. In his hand was the weapon with the unknown virus and he threatened to drop it. 

Katya snuck up behind the first man so Natasha saw her. They didn't have to discuss the plan, they were thinking the same thing. 

With a subtle nod, Natasha told Katya she was ready. The brunette didn't waste time and shot the man with the vile in his head at the same time Natasha shot the man who had her pinned down. Just in time, she caught the glass tube before it hit the sandy ground. Elegantly, she jumped back up, her red hair swinging back.

''Payload secure,'' Natasha confirmed to the others, turning towards Katya who emerged from the shadows. ''Thanks babe.''

Katya smiled brightly, clicking the safety back on her gun. ''You're very welcome.''

Their moment of relaxation and celebration was unjustified however. Rumlow was still out there and it wouldn't be hard to guess who he was after, Steve's grunts were heard over the radio.

Once again, Katya weaved through the market, but this time she was too late for the action. Over the comms she heard Wanda grunt and in front of her, a ball of fire rose up in the air. It must have been Rumlow, since he was the only one stupid enough to blow himself up, hoping to take Steve with him in the process. 

Wanda wasn't strong enough to compress such a powerful explosion and rise a person into the air at the same time. Her powers faltered until they failed altogether, releasing the hold she had on the bomb. It exploded right next to a high apartment building.

This only caused Katya to run faster and into the clearing the crowd had unconsciously made. Everyone was running away from the disaster. Everyone but the Avengers, who ran towards it. 

Wanda gasped and fell onto her knees, tears jumping in her eyes. Katya was with her immediately, sitting on her knees in front of her and grasping her face. ''Wanda, look at me. Look at me,'' she repeated more sternly when the woman, almost ten years younger than her, didn't listen the first time.

Natasha ran into the clearing too, first looking up at the building and then down to the two women on their knees in the sand. It warmed her heart how much Katya cared about Wanda, they were almost sisters at this point.

''Accidents happen. Don't blame yourself, okay?'' Wanda tried looking away from Katya's intense gaze, but the brunette kept ducking her head to catch it. ''Wanda. Are you hearing me?'' Katya lightly shook Wanda's head to wake her up. ''Blaming yourself doesn't make anything better, it only makes you hate yourself. Trust me, I've been there.''

All the Avengers heard her speech, either because they were standing right next to her or in Sam's case, over the comms. 

Wanda was in no state to answer, so Katya stood, pulled her up from the ground and sat her down on a crate a good distance away from everything. Emergency services would take it from here, there was nothing left for them to do.

Katya shared a worried look with Natasha, who had followed them. The youngest woman sat with her knees pulled up to her chest, staring into nothingness. Just when she was doing better, this happened. 

Natasha nodded her head, gesturing for Katya to follow her. Out of earshot from Wanda, they stopped, equal frowns on their faces. ''This is bad. There were people in that building. She's never killed before if you don't count the robots. You remember how guilty we felt after killing our first man, we need to keep an eye on her.''

Katya sighed, studying the toes of her boots. ''I agree, but there's only so much we can do.'' Her fingers ran through her sandy brown locks. 

A slim hand found its way to her underarm, squeezing it lightly. ''She looks up to you, you'll figure it out.''

''I don't know, Nat.'' Katya admitted, finding the courage to look into those deep green eyes that felt like home. ''I've never been in this position before where I am the example. I was always the example of what not to be and suddenly I have to do everything right.'' 

Uncertainty was the thing Katya hated most. She didn't know how to be a good example, she was just herself. And no matter how many people told her that that was enough, she would never fully believe it.

''You don't.'' Natasha countered. ''It's trial and error and I think you've been doing an amazing job training her.''

The sirens of emergency services came closer, reminding Katya once again how bad it was. ''Not good enough apparently.'' Her hands played with the gun in her hands. Such a deadly weapon. Something no one should be allowed to wield.

Natasha threw her a glare. It frustrated her how Katya always blamed herself. ''You just gave her a speech on not blaming herself and then you go and do it yourself. You have no clue about powers or anything like that. She's had to figure that out on her own, but she's a good spy. You're doing the best you can, Kat.''

''I know.'' Katya admitted defeat, hanging her shoulders. ''I just wish this hadn't happened. The people still hate us after what happened in Sokovia.''

''Yeah,'' Natasha breathed, turning her head to look at the flames. ''I'm afraid this isn't over yet.''


	66. An Ultimatum

None of the Avengers felt satisfaction after that mission. They didn't catch Rumlow, couldn't give him the punishment he deserved. Katya certainly would have liked to let some of her aggression out on him, but alas.

They tried to move on, but chose to lay low for a while. The world once again doubted their skills to bring missions to a good end and Katya didn't blame them. If the people who were supposed to protect you, couldn't do that without murdering dozens of innocent people, did the end justify the means?

Wanda locked herself up in her room. Katya had to drag her out to train and when that succeeded, she didn't say much. Guilt consumed her.

Eleven people had been killed. Eleven Wakandans, an advanced folk from a country somewhere in Africa. They mostly kept to themselves, but the king was well known for his generosity and kindness. The Wakandans in Lagos where there on an outreach mission, voluntarily helping the Nigerian country.

It had been two weeks, and while there were a lot of talks about consequences, nothing had happened yet. Katya knew it was bad this time, but what else could she do but wait?

She didn't entirely stop working though. Evil didn't stop when the Avengers were on a break. On the contrary. There were a lot of small threats happening everywhere. Criminals saw their chance now that resistance would be less.

So on her normally free Friday night, Katya sat on her bed, shifting through files and papers. There was a situation in Thailand that called her name but she couldn't figure out who was behind it all. It frustrated her to the bone and she was so deep in thought she only noticed Natasha when the door fell into the lock with a soft thud.

The Russian stopped, stared at her fiancée and shook her head. Katya was overworking herself. With a sly smile, she sat down next to her, the bed dipping down slightly. 

Katya didn't look up or acknowledge her in any way, so Natasha had other plans to gain her attention. 

When soft lips attached itself to her neck, Katya's hand froze in the middle of turning over a page. ''What are you doing?'' she asked, knowing damn well where this was going. Her body did too, because her heart jumped without her consent.

There was no answer, but her hair was moved away from her neck. ''Are you trying to seduce me?'' She felt Natasha smile against her skin. 

The redhead hummed, her breath sending shivers down Katya's spine and speeding up her heart. It was embarrassing how much of an effect she had on her. ''Is it working?''

''No,'' Katya managed to squeeze out, her voice octaves higher than it normally was. She refused to give in so easily, even though she was long gone and the paper was crumbling in her fist. 

Slowly, the kisses trailed down to her collarbone. Katya forced herself to keep her eyes open, but when a hand also slowly trailed up her thigh, she was close to giving in.

''How about now?'' 

''No,'' the brunette breathed, but she had long abandoned the papers in her hands. They were roughly shoved away from her lap when Natasha climbed on top of her, continuing her assault on her neck. Trailing further and further down while nibbing and sucking on her skin until she found the one sensitive spot on Katya's neck. She knew exactly how to work her body, what would get her to give in.

''Still nothing?'' she teased merciless. That woman was going to be the death of her. 

Katya grumbled, no longer able to keep her hands to herself. With a groan, she grabbed Natasha's head and pulled it up, connecting their lips. Natasha smiled in victory when Katya moaned softly before pulling them both down and hastily grabbing the hem of Natasha's top as she did so.

~~~~~

Katya woke up exhausted and in an empty bed. For some reason she hadn't heard or felt Natasha leave. She ran her hands over her face in an attempt to wake up and turned on the shower. Something in the mirror caught her eye and Katya groaned when she saw the dark purple hickey just below her collarbone. 

Natasha loved leaving hickeys as a mark of possession and usually, she was more careful at leaving them in places the others didn't see, but last night she had gotten a bit carried away. Even from across the room, it stuck out against her pale skin like a black cat in the snow.

She made sure to throw Natasha a glare when she walked into the common room after getting dressed. The redhead acted innocent, as if she wasn't sure why she had earned it, but there was no way she didn't see it when she woke up this morning. 

''Tony,'' Katya said in surprise when the man walked in, stopping her from growling at Natasha. She had completely forgotten about his visit today and was happy to see him again. It was rare he visited the compound and Katya missed his inappropriate jokes. Her joy ended abruptly when the snake of a man called Secretary Ross followed him inside. 

''Petrova, good to see you're spending your nights having fun,'' Tony joked, trying to relieve the tension. Subtly, he gestured to the purple spot just above her shirt. 

Katya cursed. She thought she had picked a top with a high enough neckline but her love mark was on show for everyone to see. ''Shut up Stark,'' Katya groaned. She was too tired to deal with his jokes today, but had a feeling whatever Ross was here to tell them would suck even more.

''Why have you brought him?'' she hissed under her breath, keeping her voice low so the man in question wouldn't hear it. Her glare followed him through the room however.

''You'll see,'' Tony answered vaguely. She saw he was tired, more than normal. And that said something. His face told her she better not argue with him today, because he would yell at her if she did. 

Everyone gathered in the conference room, turning their chairs to the screen on the wall, where the Secretary was going to give either a speech or a presentation. Or both. 

Wanda trailed in after Vision and Steve, her head hung low and avoiding Ross's gaze. It was probably for the best because it wasn't a nice one. Katya made sure to send him a warning glare for looking at her friend that way.

The man positioned himself at the head of the table, directly opposite Katya, and started his lecture. This was what they'd been waiting for. ''Five years ago, I had a heart attack. I dropped right in the middle of my back-swing.''

Katya groaned inwardly, sliding down in her chair. The man loved hearing himself talk, so this would take a while until he came to his point. She would have told him to hurry up but that wouldn't help with their situation at all.

''Turned out it was the best round of my life, because after thirteen hours of surgery and a triple bypass, I found something forty years in the Army had never taught me:'' he paused for dramatic effect and Katya's eyes rolled by themselves. ''Perspective. The world owes the Avengers an unpayable debt. You have fought for us, protected us, risked your lives. But while a great many people see you as heroes, there are some who would prefer the word "vigilantes".''

Natasha all but scoffed, smiling slightly at the man's excessive display of authority. ''And what word would you use, Mr. Secretary?''

''How about "dangerous"?'' he responded. And while Katya had to agree with him there, that the Avengers' strength and powers were dangerous, they were used for good, for protection. ''What would you call a group of US-based, enhanced individuals who routinely ignore sovereign borders and inflict their will wherever they choose and who, frankly, seem unconcerned about what they leave behind?''

''You think we don't care about what we leave behind?'' Everyone turned to look at her, even Tony who sat beside her but a good distance away. Katya forced her voice to stay calm and collected. Yelling wouldn't solve anything. ''I promise you that we do.''

Ross stared at her and she stared back just as calmly. Eventually he looked away, which made her smile slightly. ''It certainly doesn't look like it.'' 

''New York.'' The screen behind him lit up, showing a map of the world with different dots on almost every continent. It zoomed in on New York first, playing footage from that day, filmed by news stations and scared citizens. 

Katya's skin crawled when the screeching of the Chitauri filled the room. She had never forgotten that day when the world changed and was thrown into a new era. She could almost feel her shoulder burn from where she was stabbed with a spear.

''Washington DC.'' The day Katya's whole world collapsed for the second time. The second time she lost her home and the security in her life. She never thought back to it, the Winter Soldier mission, and she was sure Steve, Natasha and Sam didn't either. The latter hang his head, unable to watch the video. But Katya took in every second as the Helicarriers crashed into the Triskelion.

''Sokovia.'' The rock rising up from the Earth, buildings falling down on top of others, people screaming, robots flying. Katya's heart thumped loudly in her chest, but she kept a straight face. That was one of the hardest missions she had ever done. It was a miracle she had made it out alive with only mental scars.

And then the most recent mission. The one that initiated all of this. ''Lagos.'' The building on fire, wounded and dead people being rolled out, and one last shot even Katya had to avert her eyes from: a close-up of a girl dead on the streets, her lifeless eyes staring into the camera. 

Steve saw Wanda look away in pain, and forever being the guy with the big heart, he cut off the performance. ''Okay. That's enough.''

Ross nodded to his assistant, who cut off the footage. ''For the past four years, you've operated with unlimited power and no supervision. That's an arrangement the governments of the world can no longer tolerate. But I think we have a solution.'' He threw a thick, a really thick, stack of papers on the table with a thud, shoving it over towards Wanda.

''The Sokovia Accords. Approved by a hundred and seventeen countries.'' Ross walked around the table and Katya felt his eyes burn into her skull as he passed behind her. ''It states that the Avengers shall no longer be a private organization. Instead, they'll operate under the supervision of a United Nations panel, only when and if that panel deems it necessary.''

Katya's heart sunk to her shoes. Again people wanted to control her, tell her where to go, when to go there, what to do and how to behave. Once again she was seen as a weapon instead of a person, something they could use. The tattoo in her neck was a reminder of her life as property, something she had promised never to go back to.

She wanted to gauge Natasha's reaction to this, but it wasn't clear what she was thinking. Her green eyes stared at the table, her eyebrows scrunched together in deep thought. Tony was remarkably silent, sparking the suspicion he had something to do with this. His own guilt was still eating him alive from Sokovia, but something else must have given him the push he needed.

''The Avengers were formed to make the world a safer place,'' Steve said. ''I feel we've done that.''

Katya was torn because she agreed with Steve, but also slightly understood Ross. The Avengers did leave a lot of destruction in their wake, but the threats asked for that. They simply couldn't work more contained or less aggressive. And maybe it was good there would be some oversight, she understood the Avengers were a loose cannon nobody had a good grip on, but putting it under government control was something completely different. 

Ross stopped in front of Steve, looking down at the blond man. ''Tell me, Captain, do you know where Thor and Banner are right now?'' Steve couldn't answer that question, simply because he didn't know. ''If I misplaced a couple of thirty megaton nukes, you can bet there'd be consequences.'' 

Ross walked to the head of the table, where Rhodey was in deep thought. Katya already knew what he would choose. He was a military man above else. ''Compromise. Reassurance. That's how the world works. Believe me, this is the middle ground.''

''So, there are contingencies,'' Rhodey concluded.

''Three days from now, the UN meets in Vienna to ratify the Accords. Talk it over.'' Ross wanted to leave, taking his security and assistant with him, but Katya wasn't done yet. He couldn't just drop this bomb on them and expect them to figure it out. 

''Three days?'' Katya asked outraged, turning all eyes on her again. ''You come to us with a five hundred pages thick book and expect us to read it, discuss it and be in Vienna within three days?''

He narrowed her eyes at her but knew better than to come closer. ''You need to be grateful we are even offering it at all. With your history, you should have been in jail, serving a life sentence.''

''Excuse me?'' Her good mood from this morning was completely gone. Thunderclouds hang above her head and it took all her willpower to stay seated, although her knuckles turned white from grabbing the armrests so tightly. ''I have served this country for years, risked my life countless times. I believe it was your government who fired a nuke on New York that day. If it wasn't for us, it would be a radioactive wasteland.''

Ross clasped his hands behind his back, trying not to succumb under the intensity of her gaze. ''I admit we have made mistakes too, but I hope you acknowledge yours Miss Petrova. We would be sad to lose someone of your caliber.''

Katya realized this wouldn't be of any use and let it go. He was a politician and knew like no other how to avoid questions and turn them around. But the jab to her past wasn't forgotten. It was a low blow, a moment of weakness where he let her get under his skin.

This time it was Natasha who spoke up, stopping the Secretary a second time from leaving. She had ripped her eyes away from the furious woman at the end of the table, secretly proud of her for standing up for herself. ''And if we come to a decision you don't like?''

''Then you retire,'' was his simple answer, as if it was the most obvious thing.

Katya wasn't ready to give all this up yet. Of course she could live at the compound, but she would be unable to go on missions, help with research. She would be cut off from the entire team. The Avengers weren't just her family, it was also the thing her whole world centered around. If she was left with nothing to do, what would the future look like? 

Would she work as a private trainer? Work for private contractors? Would she go the complete opposite way? The simple life? Maybe without this stability, she would fall back into old habits. But the most important question was: what would Natasha do. Because she was hard to gauge. 

Katya would do everything in her power to stay with her, even if that meant going into retirement years too early. She would move across the world, get a paid job if that's what it took. But if Natasha was going to sign and Katya didn't, what did that mean for them?


	67. There Are No Winners Here

Katya rolled her eyes for the millionth time that day, her arms crossed over her chest as she leaned against the wall of the seating area. It used to be a place of relaxation, but now the mood was infuriating, testing the very limits of her patience.

Normally, she could handle loud conversations, people talking over each other and arguing about stuff, but the topic had her angry as it was and to combine that with a tired mind and stressed body resulted in shaking hands and a clenched jaw.

Rhodey, like expected, was completely on Ross' side, going on and on about taking responsibility for their actions, being limited in their power and oversight by the government. Katya understood his choice. He was a military man by heart and understood what it meant dealing with great power. 

But what she didn't appreciate was the yelling with Sam. Both man stood with their muscles rigid behind a very calm Steve, who read through the Accords as one of the only ones. His concerned frown was back on his face. It was almost permanent by now.

''Secretary Ross has a Congressional Medal of Honor, which is one more than you have.'' Rhodey's voice was strained. He had trouble keeping it calm and collected, which was displayed by his excessive hand gestures. Katya's body language analyses would come in handy today. She knew people's choices before they knew it themselves. 

''So let's say we agree to this thing,'' Sam countered, crossing his arms. ''How long is it gonna be before they LoJack us like a bunch of common criminals?''

Katya was glad Sam saw it the way she did. The Accords was the first step, but god knows what the second one would be. If they said yes to this, it would lead to more rules, more restrictions. If they took a stand and said: 'no, there is nothing for you to gain here', a line would be drawn. 

''A hundred and seventeen countries want to sign this. A hundred and seventeen, Sam, and you're just like, "No, that's cool. We got it.''.''

''How long are you going to play both sides?''

''I have an equation,'' Vision interrupted before things turned more heated. Once again Katya felt the need to roll her eyes. He had been silent the whole time and now suddenly had something to say. Katya had been outspoken from the beginning, which didn't earn her bonus points from her opponents. 

Sam nodded sarcastically. ''Oh, this will clear it up.'' Even Steve stopped flipping through the pages and glanced at Vision to hear his ''equation''.

''In the eight years since Mr. Stark announced himself as Iron Man, the number of known enhanced persons has grown exponentially. And during the same period, the number of potentially world-ending events has risen at a commensurate rate.''

Steve raised an eyebrow, almost offended. ''Are you saying it's our fault?''

''I'm saying there may be a causality. Our very strength invites challenge. Challenge incites conflict. And conflict breeds catastrophe. Oversight... oversight is not an idea that can be dismissed out of hand.''

Wanda, next to him on the couch, listened to his explanation attentively. She was still undecided, Katya saw. She may have been on her side if Lagos hadn't happened, but the guilt was still eating at her heart, which influenced her objective opinion on the subject. Not that Katya's thinking was very objective. 

Rhodey turned to Sam. ''Boom.''

Katya scoffed, narrowing her eyes at the back of Vision's head. ''That makes zero sense.''

''Katya-'' Rhodey tried to interrupt her. Either to tell her to take it down a notch or to come with another argument. But she shot him a look that shut him up quickly. People had spoken for her all her life, now she would speak for herself.

''No, let me speak.'' She pushed her body away from the wall to stand closer to the rest of the group, walking around slowly. ''Let's say that's true, that out strength invites challenge. How will being restrained by the government fix that? Will our enemies just go: ''oh no the Avengers work under the UN, let's back off now''?'' She made little air quotes with her hands. 

''As far as I see it, it will only make it worse. We're still here, we still have the potential to fight, it doesn't lessen our strength, yes? But our response to world ending catastrophes would be so much slower.'' Sam silently nodded along with her words, a sparkle in his eyes. ''Imagine how much more damage would have been inflicted on New York, Sokovia, Lagos, if we would have had to wait to act. So many more could have died. I am not arguing against accountability, I agree with that part, but the part of my life where I blindly comply to organizations are over.''

An overwhelming silence fell over the room. That was the longest monologue they had ever heard her give, and through it all, she had managed to stay as calm as she possibly could, patiently explaining her vision without yelling. 

All the Avengers' eyes were on her, but Katya had never been afraid of the spotlight. With a challenging look on her face, she waited for someone to undermine her words, but they were too stunned to form sentences. 

''Boom,'' Sam finally muttered, mirroring Rhodey's outburst from before. ''Thank you for that.''

Katya tried to see Natasha's reaction, but what she stumbled upon was a conflicted woman. Natasha was torn between two ultimatums she didn't want to have to choose between. She felt something for Katya's opinion, but what mattered to the redhead most was how the world saw her. 

Her whole work with the Avengers and SHIELD centered around making up for her mistakes in the past. For people to no longer view her as the assassin and the murderer, but as the hero. Not even that, just as someone who did good, who protected. And if she didn't earn up to her mistakes, didn't lessen the damage she did on missions, she was still the dangerous spy. 

She turned to the man lying next to her in the hopes of gaining new insights, a hand over his face in exasperation. ''Tony. You are being uncharacteristically non-hyperverbal.''

''It's because he's already made up his mind,'' Steve spoke. Seems Katya wasn't the only one good at reading people. 

Tony removed the hand from his face, staring at the ceiling. ''Boy, you know me so well.'' He got up from the couch and winced, touching the back of his head. ''Actually, I'm nursing an electromagnetic headache.'' Walking to the kitchen, he went looking for a mug. Probably to make more coffee. 

Katya was concerned about him. He had been doing so well the last time she saw him, but there was a dullness in his eyes he had also had after New York. ''That's what's going on, Cap. It's just pain. It's discomfort. Who's putting coffee grounds in the disposal? Am I running a bed and breakfast for a biker gang?''

He turned around, not-so-subtly placing his phone on the counter and tapping on it. A picture of a young man appeared in the air for everyone to see. ''Oh, that's Charles Spencer by the way,'' Tony said casually, continuing with making his coffee. Katya could feel where this was going. 

''He's a great kid. Computer engineering degree, 3.6 GPA. Had a floor level gig at Intel planned for the fall. But first, he wanted to put a few miles on his soul before he parked it behind a desk. See the world. Maybe be of service. Charlie didn't want to go to Vegas or Fort Lauderdale, which is what I would do. He didn't go to Paris or Amsterdam, which sounds fun. He decided to spend his summer building sustainable housing for the poor. Guess where, Sokovia.''

Katya dropped her gaze to the floor and once again crossed her arms over her chest. It was never nice to be confronted with your mistakes. Deaths were always numbers on a paper, on the news, they didn't have faces or names. But this kid did, and he had been in the wrong place at the wrong time. 

''He wanted to make a difference, I suppose. I mean, we won't know because we dropped a building on him while we were kicking ass.''

Tony dropped some pills in his mouth, swallowing them with coffee. Nobody knew what to say, so nobody did. Even Katya kept staring at the ground. 

''There's no decision-making process here.'' Tony crossed his arms over each other as he leaned against the counter, blocking the view of the phone screen. ''We need to be put in check! Whatever form that takes, I'm game. If we can't accept limitations, if we're boundary-less, we're no better than the bad guys.''

Even though it wasn't meant as a jab towards Katya, she took it personally. She was once a bad guy who needed to learn those boundaries when she started working for SHIELD. 

Steve was far from impressed. There were already two clear groups forming, Tony on the supportive side and Steve on the opposing side. ''Tony, someone dies on your watch, you don't give up.''

''Who said we're giving up?''

''We are if we're not taking responsibility for our actions,'' Steve countered. He was slowly getting fed up with all of this too. ''This document just shifts the blame.''

''I'm sorry. Steve. That - that is dangerously arrogant,'' Rhodey once again spoke. Katya kept turning around to look at the person speaking. ''This is the United Nations we're talking about. It's not the World Security Council, it's not SHIELD, it's not HYDRA.''

Katya shook her head, chuckling softly. ''I know better than anyone that names don't matter. SHIELD was HYDRA, the World Security Council was HYDRA. Who knows what snakes are in the UN? Organizations are run by people with agendas, and agendas change.'' How did she suddenly become so active in this conversation and why was everyone else so quiet? Didn't they want to express their thoughts or did they think arguing was of no use? Maybe it was. 

The rift between the team members grew wider and wider. Never had they been more divided than right now.

''That's good,'' Tony exclaimed, stalking towards Katya with his hands in his pants pockets. His expensive shoes stopped right in front of the Russian, who made quite the intimidating pair standing next to Sam. ''That's why I'm here. When I realized what my weapons were capable of in the wrong hands, I shut it down and stop manufacturing.''

''Tony, you chose to do that,'' Steve spoke up. ''If we sign this, we surrender our right to choose. What if this panel sends us somewhere we don't think we should go? What if there is somewhere we need to go, and they don't let us? Like Katya said: We may not be perfect, but the safest hands are still our own.''

Katya still couldn't get a reading on Natasha. She was trying very hard to avoid her gaze, which didn't mean anything good.

''If we don't do this now, it's gonna be done to us later,'' Tony tried to reason. He really did care, that's what made this all so sad. He wanted the team to stay together. He didn't want anything to happen to anyone. ''That's the fact. That won't be pretty.''

Wanda grasped what the billionaire meant to say. After all, she had heard the news, where they asked what legal rights the young Avenger had to use her powers. To fight for a country she wasn't even a legal citizen to. ''You're saying they'll come for me.''

Katya set her jaw. ''No one's coming for you.'' They'd have to go through her. No way she would let them lock up Wanda simply because she was so powerful. 

People always said your past didn't matter, that it was about who you were right now and the things you did. But then why was she and now Wanda constantly being confronted with it, reminded of it? What more did they have to do to prove their loyalty to a country that gave them a second chance, praised them when they did good but doubted them at the smallest opportunity.

''We would protect you.''

For once, Katya was glad Vision was there and actually agreed with her. For some reason, he had started to care about Wanda almost as much as the brunette. There was a weird tension between the witch and the life form, and Wanda felt comfortable around him. 

''Maybe Tony's right.''

Katya's breath got stuck in her throat, her muscles tensing up. It couldn't be true. ''Nat.'' She said unbelievably, her blue eyes widened in question.

Natasha apologetically glanced at her fiancée, a stab in her chest when she saw the incomprehension on her face. ''If we have one hand on the wheel, we can still steer. If we take it off...'' she said unsure. Steve's hurt eyes bore into hers as well, feeling betrayed by the woman who had been by his side through it all.

Sam cut her off, unbelief written all over his features too. The day she and Katya appeared in front of a Council and told them to fuck off was still fresh on his mind. ''Aren't you the same woman who told the government to kiss her ass a few years ago?''

Natasha, unsurprisingly, felt attacked and for the first time in her life stuttered over her words to try and defend herself. In her voice, Katya made out that she hated this too, wasn't sure of anything either. ''I'm just- I'm reading the terrain. We have made some very public mistakes. We need to win their trust back.''

Tony leaned on the arm rest of the couch, gesturing to his ear. ''Focus up. I'm sorry, did I just mishear you or did you agree with me?''

Katya couldn't believe he was joking right now while her world turned upside down. Both Russians were stubborn, so one of them had to give in. This was too big of a disagreement to let slide. And Katya knew she was never going to sign.

''Oh, I want to take it back now.'' Natasha feigned regret but Katya honestly wasn't hearing the conversation anymore. She was too busy with the anxiety in her stomach. 

''No, no, no.'' Tony wiggled his finger side to side. ''You can't retract it. Thank you. Unprecedented. Okay, case closed--I win.''

Suddenly, Steve stood up, throwing the Accords on the coffee table. Katya was so lost in thought it startled her, which startled Sam in return. ''I have to go,'' the blond man said, pure heartbreak and grief on his face and his body language. 

Everyone watched him leave, mindlessly stepping down the stairs, but nobody did or said anything. 

Katya gestured to him, waiting for anyone to follow him and make sure he was okay. ''Is nobody- oh for God's sake.'' She stamped out of the room, shaking her head in disbelief. The whole chemistry of the team had fallen apart within an hour.

It wasn't long until she found Steve, leaning against the railing of the same stairs he had descended with his head buried in his hand, in the other his cellphone. He didn't hear her coming so she alerted her of her presence by greeting him softly. ''Hey.'' She tried to smile but it was more of a grimace.

When he looked up, her own heart broke a little too. There were tears in her eyes, tears she had never seen from him before. Without thinking, she wrapped her arms around his body. It surprised him, momentarily freezing him into place, but quickly relaxed and hugged her back. 

''What's going on?'' she muttered after she pulled back. A short hug was fine, a long one, not so much. She did not like people touching her.

Steve didn't look at her, instead he focused on his fidgeting hands. ''She's gone. Peggy,'' he clarified.

Katya sighed, as if this day could get any worse. Her gentle hand found his shoulder. ''I am so sorry, Steve. I know what she meant to you.''

His blue eyes looked up, unintentionally landing on the dark spot on her chest. ''And I know what Natasha means to you.''

Another stab in her chest. ''We're not here to talk about her. Can I help?'' Steve shook his head, but he appreciated the gesture. ''Okay, let me know if you want to talk. I know a couple things about loss.''

''Thank you, Katya. Really. It means a lot.'' Sometimes Steve was a difficult person to be around when their characters clashed, but she would always care about him like he always would care about her. 

Katya let a small smile break through the sorrow. ''Let me worry about the Accords, okay? You, take time to process.''

Steve nodded, smiling the best smile he could muster. 

''Katya.'' The two Avengers turned their heads to the sound. Natasha stood on the top of the stairs, her whole body radiating uncertainty. ''Can we talk?''

Katya nodded, pulling her eyes away from her form and back to the broken man in front of her. ''Are you going to be okay?''

Steve nodded, gesturing for her to go ahead. ''Go.''

The woman left him behind, walked back up the stairs and followed Natasha to a more private area. It was a talk both of them dreaded but that was necessary for the next few steps. 

What would the future of the Avengers look like? Who would sign and who would retire? And maybe the most important question: how could both Russians get over their differences and not let this interfere with the thing they loved most: each other.


	68. The Past Always Comes Back To Haunt You

Katya had picked up an old skill. Not a hobby, a skill, something she had been taught the same way she was taught to shoot a gun, to kill a man: ballet.

It had started somewhere over the past year when she needed distraction. Something to take her mind off things. She found that in the music, she could lose herself. In the fluent and elegant movements, her body relaxed and danced away all the stress.

It had been a threshold to buy new ballet shoes, to shove some of the equipment in the gym to the side to create space in front of the wall-length mirror. It had taken immense bravery to wrap the shoes around her feet and force herself up on her toes. They had protested, sure, but she knew exactly how to ignore them.

When the soft music in her earphones had started, she had expected to cry, crumble or at least get a sick feeling in her stomach. But instead her muscles had relaxed and no flashbacks came. 

Carefully, she had started with some more basic exercises to get her back in the flow, but pretty soon she found herself remembering old choreography and turned in her spot. Her muscles had hurt the following day. They hadn't been used like this in a while. 

More and more time she spent in front of that mirror. It had become an indicator of how stressful she was. Natasha almost cried the first time she had seen her dance. All she could see was young Katariina on the worn wooden floor in the Red Room. To overcome your demons and past like that took a lot of bravery.

When Katya followed Natasha up those stairs, she wished she was back in that gym, the soft music in her ears. Dance away the stress of this day. 

Their journey through the compound ended -not surprisingly- in their own apartment, away from eavesdroppers like Stark. As soon as the door fell into the lock behind them, Katya started. ''Nat-''

''No, I would like to speak first. Please.'' The redhead sat down on the couch, mentally exhausted. Katya's heart hurt upon seeing her this way and she gestured for her to go ahead. Natasha sighed, leaning forward with her elbows on her knees. ''I understand where you're coming from, I do. And I agree with Steve. We need to get places as quickly as possible without waiting for the go-ahead, but I also see Rhodey's point.'' 

Katya paced back and forth on the other side of the coffee table, chewing on her thumbnail.

''Lagos was bad and it wasn't the first time innocent people have died because of our carelessness. You and I, we perceive death differently. We've almost become numb to killing, but others haven't and we need to hear them. They don't trust us anymore, Kat. We have made mistakes and we need to take responsibility.''

Her green eyes followed Katya through the room. Her body language was clear to read. She was stressed and hated all of it. ''I know, Nat. I know. But I don't believe signing the Accords is the right way to make up for that.'' The brunette stopped and sunk down on the couch next to her fiancée, running her hands over her face. ''I can't ever be owned by an organization again. HYDRA, SHIELD, you know how it ended. I can't- I can't go through that again. For the first time in my life, I own myself.''

Natasha laid a hand on Katya's knee. The tone of the conversation was calm, better than she had hoped for. ''I understand that and I think that is a solid reason not to sign. People will understand if you choose to retire. They know your past. But please consider it.''

Shaking her head, Katya lowered her eyes to the ground, looking for answers there. ''You can't change my mind anymore. I'm not going to. How could I sign knowing Wanda will be confined to the compound? How can I sign after what Ross said to me?'' She looked up, her blue eyes meeting patient green. ''What other people thought of me was all I cared about, but now I realize that's not true anymore. What I believe and what I think of myself matters most. Let them talk, but I stand behind every decision we have made as a team.''

''So do I,'' Natasha agreed, searching those deep blues for any clues on what to say, ''but some of those decisions resulted in more pain and chaos. You can't ignore that.''

Katya furrowed her eyebrows, almost offended. ''I'm not. I do see we've made mistakes, but the Accords don't fix them. Please, Nat, can't you see they don't fix anything?'' She was almost begging at this point. Begging the woman next to her to see it the way she did. But their subbornness had always been a problem.

''I'm sorry Kat, but I believe it is the right thing to do.'' Both women dropped their gazes to the ground. The tension was uncomfortable, not as they wanted it to be. Natasha moved a little bit closer to Katya, sliding her hand in between Katya's restless ones. ''We can't let this come between us. Not after all we've been through.''

''I'm trying, but I just don't understand.'' She stopped. ''No, you know what? I do understand.'' Natasha didn't understand the look on her face as Katya looked up at her. It was a mix of frustration, but it wasn't about the Accords. ''I understand you've spent your life trying to make up for your past, like me.'' Natasha averted her eyes, the truth hitting her. 

''You've been working years to change people's perspective of you so they no longer see the assassin they made you, but the hero, the Avenger. But you can't see you're already there. You can't see that people have forgiven you. You can't see you don't have to try anymore. You can't see the amazing, big-hearted, lovable woman I see, even if I have reminded you every day over the past years. I am not angry as much as I am sad and frustrated.''

''For once. For once, Natalia. Look in the mirror and see yourself as I see you.'' Katya never used her full name. It was always Nat. She was really serious.

''I can't,'' Natasha threw out, tears stinging behind her eyes. As much as she wanted to see herself the way Katya did, she couldn't let go of all the blood she'd spilled. Katya nodded, confirming to herself what she had already guessed. Natasha's own self-hatred fueled her decision.

''I don't know what I can do to make you see it,'' Katya said desperately. ''Make this choice with your heart, Nat, not your head.''

Katya stood and left her sitting there with her thoughts, sad eyes turned to the ground. 

For some reason, Katya wasn't afraid to lose her. If it was real love, which it was, it would stay, love always stays. They had been through so much pain, heartbreak and loss together that the gods couldn't pull them apart even if they wanted to. Let alone some stupid Accords.

~~~~~

Peggy Carter's funeral was three days later. Three days after she passed away, Steve and Sam flew to London to attend it. Katya didn't ask if she could join. She hadn't known the woman and despite the great respect she had for her, it didn't feel right to intrude on something so personal. Steve had asked Sam, who had become a very good friend, so she had let it slide. 

What she did not expect was for Natasha to ask her to go with her. Both to the funeral and to the signing of the Accords. Katya had hesitated, but given in eventually. Even if she didn't sign, she could still show her face and be grown-up about it. Besides, it gave her a chance to explain her view on it. It would shut down rumors before they even started.

All that, and it gave her a chance to work on the awkward tension between her and Natasha. After the semi-fight, it had mostly been forced smiles and conversations. The easiness and comfort was gone.

For the occasion, Katya dressed formal. They wouldn't attend the ceremony, but a lot of important people would be in the church, let alone the news cameras filming outside. 

''You look nice,'' Natasha muttered under her breath as they walked to the church. There was a lot of security. Peggy Carter was not only loved, but also fiercely hated by her enemies. ''I bought that dress for you.''

Katya looked up, ignoring all the people around them who stared at the two Avengers. Her coat hung open, revealing the deep blue dress underneath. ''You did?'' Of course she knew Natasha had bought it. It was one of the reasons she wore it, as a silent compromise. 

Natasha hummed, her eyes jumping through the oncoming crowd of people leaving the church. Always on edge. ''After that mission in Baku where you tore that black one.''

''Right! I forgot about that one.'' Katya pouted. ''I loved that dress.''

The tiniest smirk, the first real one in days, broke through on Natasha's lips. ''I believe you almost cried.''

''Shut up,'' Katya chuckled, glaring her way. ''I most certainly did not.'' On impulse, she grabbed the redheads hand and laced her fingers through her own. Neither one of them said anything about it, but they smiled to themselves. Such a small gesture but sorely needed.

Their heels clicked in sync on the polished tiles of the church until they were muffled by expensive red carpet. They had picked a beautiful building for one of the best agents SHIELD had ever had. 

Katya always felt awkward walking into churches and holy buildings. Blood of the innocent dripped down her hands. 

Steve stood at the end of the aisle, lost in thought. He was the only one left in the building. Without looking up, he spoke. ''When I came out of the ice, I thought everyone I had known was gone.'' He glanced at Agent Carter's picture on her coffin. ''Then I found out that she was alive. I was just lucky to have her.''

Natasha smiled sadly. ''She had you back, too.''

Steve nodded and sighed. It was silent for a while until he jumped to the topic that mattered most. He didn't feel comfortable talking about Peggy. ''Who else signed?''

''Tony. Rhodey. Vision,'' Natasha listed the names of almost half their team. Tony and Rhodey hadn't been a surprise, but Katya hadn't expected Vision to sign so quickly. After all, he did seem to care about Wanda and this thing was not good for her.

''Clint?''

Natasha smiled. ''Says he's retired.''

''He should be,'' Katya agreed, shaking her head with a chuckle. ''Old man.''

''Wanda?''

''TBD.'' It was very unlikely Wanda would sign.

Steve turned to the brunette. He was almost afraid to ask. ''Katya?''

She chuckled, stuffing her hands into the pockets of her knee-length coat. ''I think I made my opinion pretty clear.'' Steve nodded, happy he was not the only one who had given the government a hard no. 

Natasha averted her eyes, ignoring the disappointment in her chest. One of her closest friends and her fiancée were on the other team. She wouldn't lose them, would she? ''We're off to Vienna for the signing of the Accords. There's plenty of room on the jet,'' she tried to convince Steve, but the man just sighed. ''Just because it's the path of least resistance doesn't mean it's the wrong path. Staying together is more important than how we stay together.''

Out of habit, she nodded her head while speaking. It was a psychological trick they were taught as kids. When trying to convince someone, nod while speaking. They will be more likely to agree with you. 

However, this trick didn't work on Steve. He was too stubborn. ''What are we giving up to do it?'' He sighed again. ''I'm sorry, Nat. I can't sign it.''

''I know,'' she admitted, stepping a bit closer to him. Katya let the conversation go on without her. 

''Then what are you doing here?'' Steve genuinely asked, a little confused on why she would be there if not to try and convince him. 

''I didn't want you to be alone,'' she confessed softly. Steve's face contorted into one of sadness and grief, causing her to step even closer and wrap her arms around him like Katya had done back at the compound. ''Come here.''

It was heartwarming to see, but Katya hoped it would stay this way. That both parties could still live together, go on together. 

~~~~~

Flashbacks. Flashbacks to the last time they stepped into a government building. Natasha holding on to Katya tightly, afraid to lose her in this crowd. Katya being blinded by the flashing cameras and growing deaf by the questions being yelled in her ear. 

The steps to the front of the massive VN building were crowded with journalists who didn't get an invite to go inside. Katya would not be answering any of their questions, but was obliged to answer the ones inside.

''Miss Romanoff, Petrova.'' The first journalist to yell their name was from one of the biggest news outlets in the country. A nice looking woman stood behind the mic and Natasha pulled them towards the camera. Maybe if they did only one of these, they could ignore the others.

The woman, smaller, Asian looking, turned to Natasha first. ''You are the only Avengers joining us today. Why isn't, for example, Steve Rogers here?''

Natasha put on her blinding smile, the one that made Katya's heart beat faster. ''Steve had to attend a funeral, so he couldn't make it. As for the others, I guess they trust us to guide it towards a good ending.'' She was really good at these kinds of things. Polite, patient and funny.

The reporter nodded and her dark eyes landed on Katya. She mentally prepared for the question. ''Miss Petrova, I gather you will not be signing the Accords. Does that interfere with the relationships you have built with your team mates?''

Yes. ''No. I don't think so,'' she lied flawlessly. Nobody would be able to tell the difference except for the woman standing right next to her. ''I will still live in the compound, just won't go on missions anymore. Does that suck? Yes. But I can live with it if it means we stay together.''

''Does your choice not to sign have anything to do with your ties to previous organizations who have been labeled as terrorist organizations?''

Katya forced herself to keep smiling. She was not here to yell at a journalist. ''It certainly did. I no longer feel comfortable working under government organizations because my skills have been wrongfully used in the past, but that's a personal sentiment.'' She was proud of herself for answering calmly and out of the corner of her eye, she saw Natasha was too. Katya could be quite unpredictable.

Understanding was written all over the interviewer's features. ''I think people can understand that.'' Luckily, she seemed to be a fan. 

''I think so too, but I'm not here to please others.'' Natasha's eyes flickered to the ground. Only for a second but she knew the words were meant for her. ''I'm here because I need to live with my decision and I don't think I can live with signing the Accords. My days of blindly following orders are over. And although I do really regret what happened in Lagos and Sokovia and all the other places we made a mess of things, I don't believe the Accords will help fix any of it.''

The woman nodded and turned back to Natasha. ''The King of Wakanda will be speaking today. What will you say to him?''

''On behalf of our entire team, we will apologize. What happened in Lagos should have never happened.'' Katya was starting to grow restless, so Natasha cut the interview short. ''If you will excuse us, we have to get inside.''

Together, they walked past all the other reporters, not sparing them a glance, until they reached the large hall where it would all happen. It was already crowded. 

They handed their coats off to a staff member at the garderobe. Katya smoothed her hair back, a nervous habit since there were so many important people here.

Her hair was freshly dyed -curtesy of Nat- so it looked nice, pulled back into a tiny bun at the back of her head. It was barely long enough to tie together but she had made it work. The rose on the back of her neck was exposed by this, and that wasn't a coincidence. It was to remind people what HYDRA had done to her, that she had been their possession and it was one of the reasons she wouldn't sign.

Katya excused herself to the bathroom. Concerned, Natasha asked if she was okay, but the brunette had drank a little too much coffee, that was all. She washed her hands in the sink, careful to take off her rings first. If she glanced up in the mirror, she would see a stressed woman, dressed in a beautiful bodycon dress, but with dark circles that couldn't be hidden by makeup. 

A stall door behind her clicked shut, an older woman stepping out. She smiled at Katya in the mirror, causing her to smile back. She looked kind enough, but suddenly she pulled a gun, pointing it at Katya with a shaky hand.

Without turning off the tab or drying her hands, Katya slowly raised them. She wished she had her own weapon now, but security had been tight and wouldn't allow her to have one. Luckily, her whole body was a weapon. But the woman opposite her, around fifty years old, on the heavier side, was clearly not used to handling the gun. 

''Please,'' Katya started softly, the water from her hands dripping down her arms. A year ago, she would have panicked at the feeling. ''Don't do anything stupid.''

The woman's eyes started to water, and with it, the weapon started shaking more. ''You killed him. You may not remember. He may just be another name on your list you crossed through, but to me, he was everything.''

Katya made sure to stay calm. This woman would be easy to talk over. She wasn't able to pull the trigger. ''I am truly sorry.''

''He was a good man, my father. An innocent, and you put a bullet through his head like it was nothing.'' She must be talking about a mission Katya did under HYDRA. None of the people she assassinated under SHIELD were innocents. She did her background checks on her victims.

''My daughter was only nine when she lost him. Did you know how hard it is to explain to a little girl that her grandfather was murdered by a criminal? By a woman who worked outside the law and would never be caught? Did you know how many nights she prayed the police would get you? But it never happened.'' Smart of her to play into Katya's soft side. But she knew manipulation like no other and was immune to things much worse than this. 

The woman's teeth clenched together, now anger instead of sadness in her eyes. ''And then you showed up in SHIELD, playing the innocent little Agent like nothing had ever happened. And then you even became an Avenger, someone little girls should look up to. If only they knew who you really were.''

Katya tried to look as innocent and guilt-ridden as she could. ''I'm so sorry. I know it doesn't justify what I've done when I say I didn't have a chance, because in the end, I still did it. I can't imagine the pain I have caused you, but I know that pain doesn't go away by killing me.'' Like she had expected, the woman was easily swayable. Doubt was already starting to creep in. 

''I've done the whole revenge thing, trust me, it does not bring you the peace you expect. You came in here, which means you work here. You have a good job, a daughter you seem to love very deeply. Don't make this mistake like I did. Please.''

The woman said nothing, but her confidence was crumbling. She needed one last push. 

''What's your name?'' Katya asked after a short silence.

''Maria,'' she managed to say. 

''Maria. Listen to me. I know you're a good woman. The fact that you haven't killed me yet proves that. And I admire your strength and the courage it takes for you to confront me, but this is not the way to go. The anger, you're letting it consume you.'' Subtly, Katya shuffled closer. Maria was too busy fighting her internal battle to notice. ''Killing me will not bring him back. You don't have to forgive me, I know you can't, but you have to forgive yourself.''

With a sob, Maria lowered the gun and pushed it into Katya's outstretched hand. The spy let out a breath of relief. She was not looking forward to getting shot today. 

''I am so sorry for all the pain I've caused you and your family. If I could do it all over again, I would do it differently, but I can't and I have to live with that.''

Maria examined the scars on Katya's bare arms. The huge burn mark from the Chitauri scepter on her right upper arm, the stab wound from that same weapon, the scar from the operation to fix her shoulder, the faded cuts on her wrists, the gunshot wounds and other, deeper cuts from knives, wounds from grenades. This woman did not have an easy life but she was not ashamed of her scars.

Her guilty eyes found Katya's blue ones. Maria didn't understand why she was being so kind. ''Will you turn me in?''

''No,'' Katya smiled. ''But I will take this gun, if you don't mind.'' Turning it over in her hand, she noticed the safety wasn't even off. 

''Please.'' Maria brushed the tears off her cheeks as Katya dried her hands and picked up her small bag. It was just big enough to hide the gun. Hopefully they didn't do security handbag checks on the way out.

''If you will excuse me, I have to go find my fiancée. She's probably asking herself if I got lost in this maze of hallways.''

Maria's eyes widened, landing on Katya's hands that didn't hold an engagement ring, only some decorative ones. ''Fiancée?''

''Shit,'' Katya groaned, stopping with her hand on the doorhandle. ''Nobody was supposed to know. Don't tell anyone. She'll be pissed.''

Maria managed a tiny smile. ''I know nothing.''

Katya made her way back to the room. There was nothing to read on her face or her body language about what just happened. She was just another guest walking through the intricate hallways. She found Natasha pretty quickly, in the same spot she had left her. Always the loyal one. 

''Did you fall into the toilet or something?'' she joked when Katya walked towards her. But then she saw the small frown only she would notice. ''What's wrong?'' she asked worried.

Katya thought about lying, but why would she? Grabbing Natasha's wrist, she pulled her into a quiet corner. ''A woman came at me with a gun,'' she whispered. ''I supposedly killed her father.''

Natasha's eyes widened. Despite knowing Katya could handle a woman with a gun, it was a scary thought. ''Jesus,'' she breathed. ''Did you?''

Katya threw her an exasperated glare. ''I don't know, Nat. I don't keep a list. Old white man with a bullet in his head describes my entire career with HYDRA.''

Natasha rolled her eyes and glanced over her shoulder. ''Where is she?'' She had expected security to rush past with the woman in handcuffs, but the hallway Katya exited was completely empty.

''I let her go, but I have her gun.'' Katya gestured to her bag. Guests eyed the duo warily in their dark little corner, so the conversation couldn't go on for too long. 

Confused, Natasha's green eyes fell back on Katya's. ''Why did you let her go?'' A young man threw both assassins a dirty look, clearly not a fan. Natasha was sure to send one back.

''She was just angry and sad, Nat. She wasn't a killer.''

Hesitantly, Natasha nodded. She understood why, but wasn't happy with this turn of events, certainly not on a day like this. ''Well, are you okay? What did she say?'' Katya might try and hide it, but the events had rattled her.

''Nothing I haven't heard already and nothing worth repeating.''

There was more, but Natasha let it slide for now. The hallway leading to the big hall was getting quieter, meaning the session would start soon and they couldn't show up late. ''We should get inside.'' Katya nodded. ''Are you sure you're okay?''

A faint smile found its way on the brunette's lips and she trailed her hand from Natasha's wrist to her hand, squeezing it slightly before letting go all together. ''Yes, Nat, I'm fine.''


	69. Does It Ever End?

With her head held high and her back straight, Katya marched into the hall after Natasha. She made sure not to look arrogant or dangerous, but confident and approachable. The polite smile on her lips was not entirely fake, but it did take effort to keep it genuine. 

None of these politicians and important world leaders intimidated her, but they did make her slightly nervous. She wasn't here because she agreed with the Accords. She simply wanted to show them she wasn't the bad guy. Because no matter how powerful the assassin was, they had the power to lock her up, hunt her down and limit her freedom. 

Now, she wasn't here because she agreed with the Accords, but simply to show them she wasn't the bad guy.

The room was big, with all the rows of tables curved around the main podium, a pulpit for the speaker. There must have been hundreds of people. Journalists, translators, politicians, all eyeing one another and talking loudly. 

''Excuse me, Miss Romanoff?'' A staff member had walked up to the duo, addressing the redhead first because she was in front and was probably more loved around here. The woman who had approached them was a bit intimidated, but did her best to smile kindly.

''Yes?'' Natasha asked just as politely, clasping her hands in front of her body. It was interesting to see how much her stance changed in different situations. Right there, she was no longer the deadly assassin from the training room or the loving fiancée from the compound. She was also not the Black Widow or an Avenger. Just Natasha.

The staff member presented a clipboard. ''These need your signature.'' Natasha picked up the pen and signed quickly. Katya scribbled down her name after checking to make sure she wasn't secretly signing the Accords but just a confirmation of attendance. ''Thank you,'' the other brunette smiled and took off just as quickly as she came, looking for the next people on her list.

What an amazing life if the only thing you had to worry about was collecting signatures.

''I suppose none of us is used to the spotlight.''

An accented voice made both Russians spin around. Prince T'Challa from Wakanda stood behind them, smiling his white teeth easily. Guilt flowed through Katya at the sight of him, knowing they had killed his compatriots, but she pushed it down.

Natasha chuckled, shaking her red hair over her shoulder. ''Oh, well, it's not always so flattering,'' she answered for Katya too. Her tone was light and slightly coy. She was trying to win him over.

''You seem to be doing alright so far,'' the man answered smugly, looking back and forth between the slightly smaller women. ''Considering your last trip to Capitol Hill, I wouldn't think you would be particularly comfortable in this company.''

''Well, we're not,'' Natasha admitted, glancing at Katya. They kept being reminded of that day. Maybe it hadn't been so smart afterwards, but at the time it had been very satisfying to mouth off the Senators. Fury couldn't be there, but he had called later to say how much he had enjoyed it. 

T'Challa hummed approvingly. ''That alone makes me glad you're here.''

Katya furrowed her eyebrows, unsure why he would say that. ''Why? You don't approve of all this?''

''The Accords, yes. The politics, not really. Two people in a room can get more done than a hundred.''

She had to agree with him there. 

Loud footsteps alerted her a man came walking up from behind. His arm brushed along Katya's, making her cringe, but when she saw who it was, she relaxed. ''Unless you need to move a piano.''

''Father,'' T'Challa greeted the King of Wakanda in his own language. Not a language Katya knew, since the country was so exclusive and there was little information about the language.

''Son,'' the king nodded. His small eyes eradiated kindness and honesty. He was one of the purest people Katya had ever met. ''Miss Romanoff. Miss Petrova.''

Katya bowed her head in respect. This was the first time ever she had met with the leader of a country, on an official manner at least. Natasha stood a little straighter as his eye landed on her, her hands clasped behind her back. ''King T'Chaka. Please, allow me to apologize for what happened in Nigeria.''

''Thank you,'' the large man said genuinely, his eyes soft. ''Thank you for agreeing to all this. I'm sad to hear that Captain Rogers will not be joining us today.'' Many people had seen him as the leader of the Avengers, which was true to some extent. Him not signing or being there was a blow and a disappointment. Maybe they had expected better of him, the perfect soldier. At least Katya already had a bad reputation. 

Natasha hung her head, a little bitterness in her voice. ''Yes, so am I.''

''Miss Petrova,'' Katya moved her eyes from the spy to the king, the weight of his stare pressing on her shoulders. ''I am sad to hear you will not be signing. The world will lose a great protector.''

He was like a father, a teddy bear of a father you did not want to disappoint as a child. The last thing she had expected to feel today was guilt, but it swirled around in her stomach. ''Thank you. And I'm sorry I can't sign. I hope you understand this doesn't have anything to do with Lagos. For that, I am truly sorry.''

For only a moment, his eyes flickered to the necklace around her neck. It was a small, fragile silver one Natasha had given her on her birthday a couple years back. It must have been expensive because the small diamonds in the pendant were real. ''I understand. I am grateful you are here nevertheless. After all, this is a day of unity.''

She was glad he could accept her decision and wasn't petty about it. If only more people could see that. 

''If everyone could please be seated. This assembly is now in session,'' an official voice spoke from the ceiling. A shot of nerves hit both Katya and Natasha, but neither showed it. 

Prince T'Challa glanced upwards, his smile momentarily fading. ''That is the future calling.'' He shook both women's hands quickly. ''Such a pleasure.''

Natasha smiled and took her leave, Katya on her heels. They had gotten a seat on the second row, meaning they were visible for almost everyone in the room to see. Katya did not like turning her back to so many people, call it a spy thing, so she wiggled uneasily in the leather chair. ''Did that go okay?'' she whispered.

Natasha clasped her hands together on the table in front of her. Her deep purple suit clashing with Katya's blue dress. ''I think it did.''

The room fell silent when king T'Chaka stepped on the podium. With his regal charisma, all eyes were on him. ''When stolen Wakandan vibranium was used to make a terrible weapon, we in Wakanda were forced to question our legacy.'' He started calmly, every word having a huge weight to it. ''Those men and women killed in Nigeria were part of a goodwill mission from a country too long in the shadows. We will not, however, let misfortune drive us back.''

Katya got an uneasy feeling as he spoke, one that always came seconds before something went wrong. Anxiously, she glanced around at the same time Prince T'Challa stepped closer to the windows covering two entire walls of the room. He stared at the street down below, where heavy security had been placed to protect all the important people inside.

Something about the way his eyes widened in shock and muscles stiffened in anticipation changed something in Katya.

''We will fight to improve the world we wish to join. I am grateful to the Avengers for supporting this initiative. Wakanda is proud to extend its hand in peace.''

A dog outside started barking aggressively, giving both her and T'Challa the last push they needed. She was out of her chair before he yelled, ''Everybody get down!'' He jumped for this father, who was extremely exposed, as Katya grabbed a blonde woman next to her and pulled her under the table.

The explosion was ear-deafening. 

The glass panels broke, shattering all over the floor and shards flying into the crowd. Arms were thrown up to protect faces and eyes. The force of the blow, even under the table, caused Katya to get blown forward. She had to stick out a hand to prevent faceplanting into the carpet. Glass cut in her hand, stinging her palms.

People were yelling and screaming in fear, but the only thing that happened for her was a switch flipping in her head. Now she was the Avenger, the spy, the Agent who knew exactly how to handle situations like these.

When all turned quiet, she waited a bit longer to make sure that was the only threat. 

What had always fascinated her with catastrophes like this, was time. Whoever had done this had spent weeks, maybe even months or years planning, preparing and executing. The explosion lasted only a second. Only a second where something actually happened, where the plan came to its climax. 

And then there was the aftermath. An aftermath differenced per catastrophe and per person. If people got severely injured, an aftermath could take months. If people got off without a scratch, mentally and physically, it only took a day or two. In this case, the aftermath took way longer. For T'Challa, it would take his entire life. He would never recover from the loss of his father. 

Buildings could be replaced and fixed, but lives couldn't be replaced. 

There was a second where Katya's blue eyes met green. Just one second to establish both assassins were both fine, before they concerned themselves with the people they had grabbed. 

''Are you okay?'' When the blonde woman, around her age, didn't react, Katya grabbed her face and shook it slightly. That seemed to wake her up. ''Hey! Are you okay?'' Katya had to shout over the ringing in her ears, her eardrums had gotten a blow.

The woman's glazed-over eyes met Katya's and for some reason, it had a calming effect. Katya was levelheaded and her hands weren't shaking. This was what she was trained for. ''Ye- Yes. I'm fine.''

Katya crept away from under the table and pulled the woman with her, pushing her towards the exit. It was pure chaos in the room. Black smoke rolled in through the now completely open walls, the carpet was on fire and all kinds of rubble whirled in the air. Pieces of paper, paint and fabric.

Katya knew she couldn't stay long without inhaling too much smoke, so she helped people up who had fallen or ripped them out of their trance, steering everyone towards the exit where emergency services were already rushing in. She pointed out the wounded and tried very hard not to look at both Wakandans on the floor. 

The king was dead. Katya had known the second the bomb went off that T'Chaka would be caught in the middle of it. The prince held his father in his arms, tears cleaning the ash from his face. It was a distressing sight Katya couldn't deal with at the moment.

A gentle hand found her elbow. ''Come on, you've done enough. Let them do their job.''

Katya was still on edge as she followed Natasha outside. Reporters and journalists pushed microphones in their faces but both women pushed through the crowd without saying a word. However, they did listen to what they told the audience at home. One name was repeated over and over again, a name Katya wished she never had to hear again.

Bucky Barnes.

He had been spotted on camera right outside the VN building. And a worldwide manhunt had started immediately. Katya found it weird they had blamed him so quickly. No investigation, no forensic leads, only that one video. Easily manipulable. 

Natasha sat the brunette down on a small stone wall, meant as decoration for the plants behind it, and rummaged through her purse. Katya was lost in thought, the gears in her head working to try and figure out what had happened. But without outside information, she knew next to nothing.

She let Natasha clean her face with tissues she wet with water. As if she was a child who had played in the mud. All of them came back black from ash and red from the tiny cut in her eyebrow. A small piece of glass must have flown in her face. She didn't even notice. 

Neither of them said anything. What did you say when the king of Wakanda died before your very eyes? When once again their problems got worse? It couldn't ever go according to plan. It was so simple: go to Vienna, smile and be polite, get back home without getting anyone killed. But no, of course there was a bomb.

Suddenly, Katya saw a familiar blonde walk through the crowd of investigators. Her eyes narrowed in on her, unsure if it was really her, but she never forgot a face. Without saying anything, she stood and left Natasha there, who was confused at first but then spotted the woman too.

''Carter,'' Katya called out, stopping in front of the crowd control barrier which was now used to close off the crime scene. Behind it were quickly established tents from different organizations and agencies. FBI, CIA, MI6. 

Sharon finished rambling to one of her colleagues and found the brunette spy pushed up against the barrier, her blue dress a couple shades darker than it should be. ''Petrova. I would say I'm surprised we meet again, but that would be a lie.''

Katya had no time for simple conversations. She needed the deeds. ''What do you know?'' 

Sharon's eyes darted around, but nobody was paying attention to them. Normally, enclosing classified information was forbidden, but the blonde CIA Agent had a soft spot for the Avengers and had deep respect for Katya. ''Seventy injured. Twelve dead. I saw the video. It looks like Barnes but it is shady. I don't trust it. Tips are pouring in but most of it is noise. That's all I have at the moment, I'm sorry.''

''Steve?'' Katya questioned. It was unlikely the soldier would let it go. He would protect his friend against any and everything. And if police found Barnes, believing he was the bomber, they wouldn't simply arrest him.

''He's here.''

Katya groaned, gripping the metal fence a little tighter in frustration. ''Of course he is. He's going to fuck everything up.'' She inched even closer to Sharon, if that was even possible. ''I can't go see him. I can't make this worse for myself. But if you do, please will you tell him to stay out of it. That Nat and I are on this?''

Sharon nodded, eager to get back to work. ''I can try, but you know how Steve is.''

''Thank you,'' Katya muttered, stopping before she could walk too far away. ''Oh and I'm sorry about your aunt.'' Sharon smiled sadly. How many days did she get to grieve? Three? Three days and she was forced back into work.

With a sigh, Katya turned around, rubbing her hands over her face. She was beyond exhausted, but there was no time for rest, not now. To her surprise, Natasha sat right behind her on a bench, her green eyes following T'Challa, who walked away. They had talked and it hadn't gone well.

''Let me guess, he didn't listen to your plea to stay out of it.'' Katya sat down on the bench, letting her body lean against the backrest. If the sun had been more powerful, she would have closed her eyes and let it warm her face, but the clouds were too thick. So instead she watched the chaos unfold, ignoring how her feet had started to hurt after walking around in heels for so long.

Natasha turned her phone over in her hand, staring at the shiny grey device. ''Said he'd kill Barnes himself.''

Katya rolled her eyes, pulling her hair loose because it was a mess anyway. It did nothing to relieve her headache. ''Why are men so predictable?''

''Steve?'' Natasha guessed.

As if on cue, the man of the hour called. His name written across the screen of the phone. Sharing a drained look with Katya, who moved closer to her to hear better, Natasha pressed the green button and put the man on speaker. ''Yeah?'' she asked, too lazy to say hello.

''You and Katya alright?'' he asked without missing a beat. His voice was strained, anxious.

''Ah, yeah, thanks. We got lucky.'' Next to the two women, an ambulance with sirens raced past. But not only did they hear it in their own ears, the sound also echoed through the phone. Steve was here and he was close. 

With a jolt, Natasha stood, on edge now that she knew what he was planning. ''I know how much Barnes means to you. I really do. Stay home. You'll only make this worse. For all of us. Please.''

''Are you saying you'll arrest me?''

''No. Someone will. If you interfere. That's how it works now.'' That was the reason Katya was still sitting on her ass and not running around with Steve. She was not looking forward to getting arrested and ripped away from Natasha and her home again. 

Katya rose from her seat, bringing her face closer to the phone. ''Steve, please. Sharon is on this, we're on this, but with the right authorithy. I know you care about him but you can't help him if you're in jail.''

''If he's this far gone, Kat, I should be the one to bring him in.''

''Why?'' she asked confused, her eyebrows pulling together. Red hair got blown into her face by the wind. It was not enough to make her shiver, but Austria wasn't exactly warm today.

''Because I'm the one least likely to die trying.''

He hung up without giving them a chance to talk him over. ''Shit,'' Natasha muttered to herself when the screen went black. Katya said a less nice, Russian version of the curse word. Her fists clenched by themselves. They needed to punch something, or throw something. 

The Accords had shoved the team towards the edge of a cliff. They had balanced there for a few days, neither tipping over and falling into the deep nor stepping back onto solid ground. But Barnes had given the last push that send them over the edge. There was no returning from this and Katya couldn't do a damn thing about it.


	70. Fine Line

For the third time that day, Katya found herself in a jet. All kinds of important UN people were busy calling, typing or writing. What had happened in Vienna was the worst possible start to the Accords. 

In the small bathroom in the front of the plane, she had cleaned herself up as best she could. Someone had been so kind as to retrieve her stuff from the Avengers Quinjet, but she couldn't find the energy to change clothes. Not in this small stall, not when the echo of the bomb rang in her ears. 

To be honest, she wanted to go home, to the compound, and let others deal with this mess. Steve had disappeared in the Austrian capital along with Sam. It wasn't hard to guess where they went, since the news broke Barnes was spotted in Bucharest. 

Part of Katya felt betrayed by two of her friends. It was understandable Steve wanted to protect his friend, get to him before Special Forces could, but didn't he care about the team? Didn't he care about abandoning them, her?

With her icy blue eyes, she studied herself in the small mirror above the sink. In this harsh light, she might as well be a ghost. That's how pale her skin was. Why was she so affected by all this? Why was she constantly nauseous? 

The past repeated itself. She had gotten her hopes up that she had finally found something that would last forever, only for it to crumble down. That's what you got when you let your heart get vulnerable, when you broke the walls down. 

Maybe it would have been better to feel nothing, distant about this whole breakup of the team. But Katya was glad she felt everything, because it suggested it all meant something. 

With a sigh, she unlocked the door and trailed back to her comfortable chair in the back. She said nothing to nobody, slipped off her shoes, grabbed a blanket from the cabinet, put her earphones in and closed her eyes. 

The goal wasn't to fall asleep, the goal was to turn up the volume so loud she was unable to hear her own thoughts. To lose herself in the music as she did when she danced.

The flight only lasted an hour, which was not nearly enough to settle down. Before she knew it, her shoulder was shaken softly. Natasha didn't have to say anything, Katya slipped her shoes on silently. 

Berlin, that's where they were going. A UN-bunker in the middle of the city, somewhere next to the river. Katya didn't sign because she didn't want to be told where to go, which was exactly what was happening now. With reluctance, she trailed after the others, off the plane. It was nice to see Sharon Carter waiting on the bottom of the stairs. At least one person she knew.

''I wonder how Steve knew about Bucharest before Task Force knew,'' Katya hissed at the blonde as she fell into stride next to her. Her accusation was accompanied by a knowing glare. She didn't want Steve locked up, but his refusal to sign the Accords meant he was no longer authorized to act on his own. Katya could respect that rule, no matter how much she hated it, so why couldn't he trust the UN to capture Barnes instead of killing him?

Natasha's head shot to the side, afraid other people had heard her words and it would come back on Carter. ''Katya, you need to calm down.'' As soon as Katya turned around, rage on her face, she knew it was the wrong thing to say.

''Are you seriously telling me to calm down?'' Katya snapped. It was all too much right now. Her voice was loud enough that multiple people around them turned around to see what was going on. ''I am covered in ash, my ears are still ringing and two of our team mates have gone rogue, and there is nothing I can do about it!''

Natasha tried to stay calm. Fighting was not going to solve anything and she knew Katya wasn't mad at her, she needed an outlet and her comment had been the trigger to her explosion. ''I know you're tired, but yelling is not going to solve anything.'' 

Sharon eyed the two women and took her leave. She did not want to be in the middle of this. 

''Don't you care?'' Katya stepped closer, gesturing wildly. Her head was a mess and deep down she knew she shouldn't be yelling. ''Why are you always so stone-faced Natasha? Doesn't this make you feel anything? For once, just show me what you feel.''

Natasha scoffed. Katya knew exactly how to get under her skin. ''Of course I care, but I can't let my emotions get in the way of this!'' She took a deep breath, clenching her jaw. ''We ignore them until the job is done, you know that Katya.'' If you had told her three weeks ago that a mission in Lagos would lead to her fighting with her fiancée in a secret UN office in Berlin, she would have laughed in your face. 

''For god's sake, can't you see this isn't a job?'' Katya gestured around her. The concrete walls, floor and ceiling did nothing for the atmosphere. ''We're not hunting criminals, we're hunting our own friends!''

''Yes, and those friends are now criminals. Cool down, we can talk later when you're not feeling the need to punch everyone.'' It wasn't a suggestion and it did not leave room for arguing. Frustrated, Natasha turned away and disappeared through the door. Katya watched her go, the anger quickly making place for guilt and anger towards herself. 

With the one bag she brought with her, she stormed the other way, towards the exit. She needed air, oxygen. The security guard at the door opened his mouth to stop her, but her glare was so dangerous he decided against it. The heavy door slammed shut behind her. 

Sun was starting to set in Berlin, Katya's favorite time of the day. The high buildings around her prevented the orange sun to land on her face, but the sky was a beautiful mixture of colors. To her luck, a huge pond surrounded the whole building. Short steps led down to them. There she sat down, knees to her chest and arms around them.

The wind made her shiver but the reflection of the sky in the water was too beautiful to ignore. As always, it calmed her down, but not as much as usual. The city sounds were soothing. If she closed her eyes, she was almost home. But the police and ambulance sirens had a different sound here, so she was just fooling herself. 

Unsurprisingly, nobody came to check up on her. So Katya sat there until she turned into a shivering statue. It would be so easy to walk away, to leave it all behind, but she couldn't do it. Abandoning friends and family wasn't like her. She was a part of something bigger.

Ashamed and numb from the cold, Katya shuffled back inside. She had no idea where to go, so she turned to the first security guard she saw. ''Wo finde ich die anderen?'' (where can I find the others?) He gave her some general directions, unable to leave his post. She ended up in some sort of control room with a small glass conference room in the center.

She did not see Natasha, but did see Sharon. The woman was busy directing people around, walking from screen to screen. It was almost eleven now, the days were long so the sun went down late, and in the time she had sat outside, Steve, Sam and Barnes were caught. Together with another surprising figure. 

T'Challa. When he woke up this morning, he was a prince. Now he was the king of Wakanda. 

The four of them sat in cells in Bucharest, heavy security guarding each door. They would be picked up via airplane soon and transported to Berlin. It left Katya with nothing to do.

''Sharon.'' Katya stopped behind her. At first she wasn't sure what she was going to say. Would she apologize? But as blue eyes met hers, that intention was gone. Didn't matter that Carter was a nice woman, she had still given Steve information that caused him to go after Barnes. She was part of the reason he was now a prisoner. ''What time will they arrive?''

The blonde eyed her colleagues. ''I can't give you that information.''

Katya's eyes narrowed, her fingers twitching. ''Why? Because I didn't sign?'' She interpreted the empty look she got as a yes and her jaw tensed. ''They're my friends, Carter. At least two of them.'' The frustration was back, all of it.

Sharon's gaze flickered to the floor, but she wasn't giving in. ''I'm sorry, I'm just doing my job.''

Katya took a deep breath. Through gritted teeth, she hissed. ''Well, can you at least tell me where I can find Natasha then?''

''I would, but I don't know where she is. But if you want to change or shower, we have some rooms downstairs. Michelle here will take you.'' The dark-skinned woman stepped forward. Her buzz-cut was so short, her hair was almost gone. She looked tough, a fighter.

''If you would please follow me,'' Michelle spoke firmly. She was not afraid of the brunette spy. Maybe the gun on her hip helped with that a little.

The longer they walked up the stairs, turned corners and wandered down hallways, the more Katya relaxed. With a sigh, she shook her head. She had such a short fuse today. The rollercoaster of emotions and events toyed with her head. She needed a distraction.

''Do you have a girlfriend, Michelle?''

Startled, the woman looked to her right, scanning Katya's face. ''How did you-''

''Please,'' Katya scoffed, cutting her off, ''my gaydar is impeccable.''

Michelle smiled, turning her eyes back on the hallway. ''I do, yes.'' She had an accent. French.

''What do you do when you have an argument?'' Katya had no idea why she was discussing her relationship troubles with a random UN staff member, but she had to get it off her chest.

Michelle chuckled softly. ''For starters, don't yell.''

''Touché,'' Katya smiled. The woman must have heard and seen the fight.

''We sit down and discuss it.'' Michelle was really falling into her role, gesturing with her hands and patiently explaining. ''Hear her side of the story, place yourself in her shoes and understand where she is coming from. Remember, it is you and her against the problem, not you versus her.''

The two woman stepped in an elevator, Michelle holding her pass in front of a scanner and pressing a button to the lower floors. 

Katya leaned against the wall, arms crossed over each other and her bag at her feet. ''That's the thing, I do see her reasoning. I do understand where she is coming from. But I can't accept it. I can't wrap my head around it. This isn't a discussion about pineapple on pizza, this is life or death.''

Michelle tilted her head, ''Maybe you don't see it anymore, but that connection between you two is visible from across the room. Every time she looks at you, there is pure adoration in her eyes. As if you are an angel sent from above. She has you on a throne so high you could never do something wrong in her eyes. If you want something, you just have to ask.'' Katya was speechless. How did she get all that from one minute of yelling? ''No matter what you do, she will never stop loving you. And if I see the look in your eyes when you talk about her, you feel the same.''

Katya laughed after Michelle stopped talking, a little redness on her cheeks because she wasn't sure if she had overstepped. ''Jeez, I didn't know I was talking to a therapist.''

Michelle laughed along with her. ''You're welcome?'' They stopped in front of a door. Again, Michelle swiped her card and with a beep, it opened. Behind it was a simple room, probably for people who lived on this base permanently. ''Here it is. I'll see if I can find Romanoff and send her over.''

Katya walked in, throwing her bag on the small bed. She wasn't planning on sleeping tonight, only taking a shower and change. ''Please.''

Michelle glanced over her shoulder. Quickly, she muttered. ''Prisoner convoy will arrive at six. Stark will be here at five.''

Katya suppressed a groan at the announcement Stark would be there. He had to stay home and let her and Natasha handle this. He would only make it worse. 

But she was very thankful Michelle had given her this information, risking her job in the process. ''Thank you,'' Katya said genuinely. She couldn't help but feel she had bothered the woman, but she looked happy to help.

''You're welcome,'' she smiled. ''For what it's worth, I don't approve of the Accords either, but it is not my job to have an opinion.'' With those words, she left the spy in the room, closing the door behind her. Katya felt on edge as she always did in a new environment. It didn't help she didn't trust the UN either. They could bust down this door any second and arrest her, but nothing happened. 

She felt a lot better after her shower. The floor turned grey from the ash in her hair and the standard shampoo smelled too much like roses for her taste, but it did the job. Not bothering to dry her hair, she slipped on some fresh clothes, all black of course, and left everything there. Natasha hadn't showed up yet. So either Michelle hadn't found her, or she didn't want to talk.

The rest of the night, which meant about five hours until Tony showed up, Katya wandered around the huge building, snooping in places she probably shouldn't be. In the back of her head, she knew she should find Natasha and talk it out, but her pride stood in the way. The argument about the Accords was the biggest disagreement they'd ever had. Their minds thought alike, most of the time.

Eventually she found the entrance to the roof. Heights had never scared her, so without trouble she stepped to the edge. A fence protected stragglers like her from falling off, but it was only as high as her chest, so she sat on top of it. Below, the pond shimmered in the moonlight, but that wasn't what caught her eye. 

The Berlin skyline was beautiful. Apartment buildings where all lights were off, offices where lights were still on -people working at night-, scooters, cars, trams, trains, planes. It was a busy city. She was also convinced if she squeezed her eyes a little, the Berlin Wall was visible in the distance. 

It was probably a good thing she was only five when it fell, signaling the end of the Cold War. If she had been born years earlier, the amount of nasty things she would have had to do for her home country would have been much higher. It was a dark time for the world. But then again, when wasn't it?

It is weird how someone's relationship with life can change. If Katya had found herself sitting on this roof ten years ago, she would have had the desire to jump, to let the wind push her off the railing. Twenty years ago, she wouldn't have wanted to jump, but hadn't been too sad if she fell either. Right here and now, the thought of letting go didn't occur to her. She had so much to live for.

At exactly five AM, when the sky was getting lighter and lighter by the second but the sun hadn't showed herself yet, a helicopter flew over her head. Of course Tony would fly in via helicopter. Her relationship with the man was a little rocky, but he was still her lifelong friend and cared about him. So she made her way inside, the warmth of the building slamming in her face after sitting in the cold air for an hour. 

''Stark,'' she greeted him. She hadn't have to walk far, the helicopter had landed on another part of the roof and the spy waited inside, behind the glass doors. Sharon shot her a weird look, probably wondering how she knew of his arrival. 

Tony completely ignored Sharon and instead followed Katya into the building. ''Ah, the less scary Russian. Still got all your limbs, I see.''

One eyebrow raised on the brunette's face as she pressed the button next to the elevator and waited impatiently, tapping her foot. ''If that is your way of asking if I'm fine after Vienna, the answer is yes.'' She stuffed her hands in the pockets of her jacket. 

''Good,'' he said quickly, looking around excessively. His expensive shoes were silent on the metal floor of the elevator. ''Where is your better half?''

Katya shrugged, as if she didn't care. But an anxious bubble sat in her chest. ''I have no idea.'' The glass walls of the lift allowed her to see through the different levels of the huge building. Sharon had pushed herself through the closing doors and leaned against them with a scowl on her face. Katya was not making friends here.

''Trouble in paradise?''

''No, all good.'' She wasn't sure if it was, but Michelle's words echoed in her brain: No matter what you do, she will never stop loving you.

''Did you sleep?''

Katya narrowed her eyes at him, studying his face and body language. He wanted to act casually, but had ulterior motives. ''Why do you suddenly care so much, Tony?''

''I care about my friends. What, is that forbidden now too?'' His phone rang. Irritated, he pulled it out of the inner pocket of his expensive suit and sighed at the name on screen. ''Excuse me, I have to take this.'' He stalked out of the elevator when it opened, brushing past Sharon. 

Katya debated on staying in the lift and taking it back up to the roof, but the look the blonde Agent gave her was enough to want to follow the billionaire down the hallway and into the control room. The glass room in the middle of it held a large table with multiple chairs. As soon as Sharon forced her in there, Katya understood why, it was soundproof.

''You have to stay in here.'' Katya turned around to protest, but the look on Sharon's face stopped her. The woman was beyond tired and guilt spread through Katya's body. ''Please.''

So she nodded and in a small act of protest, sat atop the table, with her feet on a chair. If she had to, Katya could sit still for hours. Patience wasn't something she had from herself, but something she had been taught. She listened to Tony who was on the phone with Secretary Ross. It was beyond amusing to hear Tony mouth him off as Katya stared at her feet for a full hour.

At some point, she felt a familiar pair of green eyes on her, but they didn't come closer. With all those people walking around the conference room, stealing glances at the confident assassin, their mouths opening but no sound reaching her ears, Katya felt like an exotic animal up for sale, getting admired in a cage.

Sometimes, when a really piercing gaze stared at her for too long, she looked away from her feet and threw a dangerous look their way. She knew she was acting like a child, a spoiled child, but she couldn't stop it.

The large screens in the corner of her left eye screamed for attention, but not once did she give in and look at them. Only when a large group of agents walked out after an hour, did she look up. It didn't take long until Steve and Sam walked in, surrounded by a big group of security and other important people. 

A smaller, greying man marched in front, next to him the king of Wakanda. Natasha went to greet them, but Katya didn't move a muscle except the ones in her eyes.

Sam nodded at the brunette, as did Steve. Even T'Challa found her eyes and smiled slightly. Maybe she would be able to visit Wakanda if she got on his good side.

Automatically, her eyes slipped over to Natasha's. Only for a heartbeat, but it was long enough for a stab in her stomach. Fighting with her was horrible, but the reality was that Katya sat in here while Natasha was out there, doing what she did best: fixing problems.

''No. Romania was not Accords-sanctioned. And Colonel Rhodes is supervising cleanup.'' Tony spoke loudly into his phone. The glass door of the office slid open, noise from outside pouring in. That's also how she heard Natasha's soft voice for the first time in hours. 

''Try not to break anything while we fix this,'' she called out over her shoulder to Sam and Steve. For some reason, T'Challa was taken elsewhere. He wasn't an Avenger, so he didn't have anything to do with the Accords, only with Barnes. Because if he was here, that meant he did indeed go after the soldier like he had promised Natasha back in Vienna.

''Consequences?'' Tony almost yelled in her ear, making her cringe. ''You bet there'll be consequences. Obviously you can quote me on that 'cause I just said it. Anything else? Thank you, sir.''

'''Consequences'?'' Steve frowned as Tony stepped out of the office and closer to him.

With his Stark phone in his hand, the man made big movements, like he always did. ''Secretary Ross wants you both prosecuted. Had to give him something.''

Steve smiled, but it wasn't happy. ''I'm not getting that shield back, am I?'' he called after the retreating man. 

Natasha joined his side, ignoring Katya's stare. ''Technically, it's the government's property. Wings, too,'' she added, teasing Sam. 

Sam glared at her, not happy to hear his precious suit was now no longer his. Katya hoped she could still keep her beloved weapons. ''That's cold.''

''Warmer than jail,'' Tony joked, disappearing around a corner.

''Hey girl.'' Sam's smile and happy, outgoing character was always a warm welcome. That was definitely true when everyone had ignored her for a complete hour, treating her as a sickness.

Leaning back on her hands, Katya smiled brightly. It was slightly forced, but he didn't notice. ''Hey man.''

The chair next to her feet rolled backwards and he sat down. Steve said nothing, just scanned the screens on the wall for something. ''Why are you sitting here like a statue?''

She shrugged. ''Can't leave this room and they didn't give me anything to play with, so...'' It was meant to be funny, but it turned depressing. 

''You look tired,'' Sam admitted, scanning the dark circles under her eyes and the glazed-over irises. Without makeup to hide it, it was worse than before. 

Katya tried to laugh it off, shaking her hair out of her face. ''Thanks, jerk.'' A tense silence fell over the duo. Sam knew what would come next. ''So, you wanna tell me what the hell happened in Romania? Because they wouldn't tell me anything.'' She gestured to the people around.

Sam sighed and leaned backwards in his chair. His hand traced intricate patterns on the wooden table. ''Simple, we almost had Barnes, then that man dressed like a cat showed up.''

Katya couldn't help it. The way he said it with that disgust on his face made her burst out in a loud laugh. ''Wait, what? A cat?'' Her outburst attracted the attention from some agents outside the room, since the door was still open.

Behind them, Steve glared at the man. ''It's not a cat, Sam,'' he corrected him, thinking back to his remark in the car on the way here. 

''To me it is.'' His hands raised in surrender. ''The Black Panther. According to the king, it is ''the protector of Wakanda''.''

Katya frowned, trying to make sense of it all. ''Wait, so T'Challa is this superhero dressed like a cat while also being king of Wakanda? And he, on his own, prevented you two from getting Barnes?''

''Well, not only him,'' Sam defended himself weakly, ''police found us too. And Rhodey.''

''Police?'' Katya chuckled. ''You got your asses handed to you by police?''

It earned her a glare, but Sam laughed non the less. ''Shut up. What have you been doing instead of sitting here?''

''Hey!'' she exclaimed, feigning offence. ''I sat on the roof too, and next to the pond outside. They won't let me do anything so they locked me up in here instead of a prison cell. Isn't that nice?''

Sam shook his head, laughing. At least he was here, it made all of it a bit less miserable. ''What did you do?''

Katya sighed, the smile dropping from her face as she looked back at her shoes. ''I didn't sign.''


	71. Ready To Comply

''Hey! Can I get something to eat? I'm starving here.'' Katya paced back and forth along the glass wall, trying to get the attention of one of the dozen agents circling around her glass cage, but they either completely ignored her or glanced at her and then ignored her. And she was starving. 

Steve didn't even look at her, just stared at the table as he answered tiredly. ''You know they can't hear you, right?''

She turned on her heel, her hands on her hips. ''So? I can lip-read, why can't they?''

''Not everyone was trained a super spy, Katya.'' He didn't have the energy to chuckle, so he just smiled faintly. His body was still tired from running, jumping and fighting in Romania and his mind was stressed and afraid for his friend. Katya had seen on one of the screens -- a tiny one in the upper left corner -- that Barnes was confined in an extremely strong pod. One with inches thick glass, the best steel the world has to offer and one that tied him down as if he was a criminal. 

No trial, no process, they just arrested him and threw him in there without mercy. Apparently a shady video from a security camera was enough to treat him like an animal and nothing more. Katya couldn't believe it didn't bother Natasha one bit. If anyone knew what it was like to be brainwashed and turned into a killer against their will, it was her. 

With quick steps, Katya strolled over to him, placing her hands on the table and leaning close to his face. It was all meant as a joke, but he visibly leaned back. ''Listen, Rogers. You shouldn't start an argument with a hungry woman. Ever heard of the word hangry ?''

''Should I?'' he breathed confused, his eyes flickering between hers. 

Katya narrowed her eyes some more and Steve swallowed thickly. ''Keep going and you'll experience what it means.''

''So... keep my mouth shut?''

Without warning, she pulled back, patting him on the shoulder with a wide smile. ''You're a fast learner, soldier.'' Steve breathed in relief. Katya could be scary when she wanted to be.

To Katya's surprise, someone did walk in. ''Don't attack me, I come bearing gifts.'' Tony threw some packages with food on the table in Katya's direction. She gasped happily and dove into it like a child in a candy store. ''Didn't know what you wanted so I got you one of everything.''

Everything was there. It was all from the vending machine down the hall, but it was enough. A muffin, chocolate bars, granola bars, chips, whatever her heart desired. She ripped the package of the muffin open and sat down in the chair on the other end of the table, propping her feet up on the wooden surface. ''If this is your way of winning me over, you're off to a good start.''

Tony smiled, watching the spy chew on her food before turning to Rogers. ''Hey, you wanna see something cool? I pulled something from dad's archives. Felt timely.'' He opened up some sort of case and placed it in front of the soldier. If Katya weren't so busy at the moment, she'd have asked what it was. ''FDR signed the Lend-Lease bill with these in 1941. Provided support to the Allies when they needed it most.''

''Some would say it brought our country closer to war.'' Of course Steve knew what that bill represented. He was alive in that time period after all, which was still crazy to Katya.

Tony almost rolled his eyes at the remark. He would never win with Steve. ''See? If not for these, you wouldn't be here,'' he joked, and Katya had to chuckle softly. Man, she had missed Tony's jokes at the compound. Always on the edge of mean and funny. ''I'm trying to... what do you call it? That's an olive branch. Is that what you call it?'' He sat down next to Steve, facing him.

Steve stared at him. ''Is Pepper here? I didn't see her.''

''We're kinda...'' Tony's face fell. He wished Steve hadn't touched that topic, ''well, not kinda...''

''Pregnant?'' Steve filled in with a smile. 

Katya choked on her muffin. ''Wait. What? Mini-Starks?'' she asked after she got the air back in her lungs.

Tony glared at her and quickly shot the rumor down. ''No. Definitely not. We're taking a break. It's nobody's fault.'' Katya dropped her eyes and wished she hadn't joked about it now. She should have seen how his shoulders hung and his eyes turned sad. Instead the only thing she had thought about was herself, missing his visual clues.

''I'm so sorry, Tony. I didn't know,'' Steve apologized. Tony kept his private life very private, which was now also a lot easier since he didn't live with the Avengers anymore. 

''A few years ago, I almost lost her, so I trashed all my suits. Then, we had to mop up HYDRA... and then Ultron. My fault. And then, and then, and then, I never stopped. Because the truth is I don't wanna stop. I don't wanna lose her. I thought maybe the Accords could split the difference.'' 

He stood from his chair and paced. Katya had long forgotten her food and focused all her attention on the broken man on the other side of the table. ''In her defense, I'm a handful. Yet, dad was a pain in the ass, but he and mom always made it work.''

Steve smiled at the thought of Howard. He had told the team stories about the man a couple times, and only from those, Katya pictured the resemblance between the Starks. ''You know, I'm glad Howard got married. I only knew him when he was young and single.''

''Oh, really? You two knew each other? He never mentioned that,'' Tony joked, slipping his suit jacket back on. It was so easy to look put-together in expensive clothing to distract people from the pain underneath. It was a trick Tony used often. ''Maybe only a thousand times. God, I hated you.''

Steve was somehow saddened by that comment and glanced at the floor. ''I don't mean to make things difficult.''

''I know, because you're a very polite person.''

''If I see a situation pointed south...'' Steve started as Tony walked behind him. ''I can't ignore it. Sometimes I wish I could.''

Tony looked him dead in the eye, staring down at the super soldier he always clashed with but held a deep respect for. ''No, you don't.''

''No, I don't.'' Steve chuckled. ''Sometimes-''

''Sometimes I wanna punch you in your perfect teeth. But I don't wanna see you going. We need you, Cap. So far, nothing's happened that can't be undone. If you sign,'' he begged desperately, gesturing at the papers and the pens, ''we can make the last twenty-four hours legit. Barnes gets transferred to an American psych-center instead of a Wakandan prison.''

It was smart of Tony to play the Barnes-card. Katya saw something in Steve's eyes change, and she retracted her feet from the table, sitting up straighter to see how this would unfold. 

What if Steve signed? Then only her, Sam and Wanda hadn't signed. She wasn't so sure Sam wouldn't follow Steve's example and maybe even Wanda would give in if they told her she was a danger. It wouldn't take much to convince her. 

Steve furrowed his brows, calculating all kinds of things in his head. What it would mean for him, for the team, what he was actually signing. Slowly, he grabbed a pen from the case and stood. ''I'm not saying it's impossible... there would have to be safeguards.''

Katya's stomach dropped and she began doubting everything she believed in. If Tony could convince Steve this easily, maybe his belief hadn't been that strong in the first place. Maybe the Accords weren't so bad and she had rejected it because she was biased. Biased against control. But she always followed her gut, and her gut told her it was wrong.

''Sure,'' Tony said quickly, afraid he'd lose Steve if it took too long. ''Once we put out the PR fire, those documents can be amended. I'd file a motion to have you and Wanda reinstated-''

Katya's protective side unlocked and she stood from her chair. ''Wanda? What about Wanda?''

''She's fine.'' Tony tried to calm her down, but the glare on her face was intense. ''She's confined to the compound, currently. Vision's keeping her company.''

''What?'' Katya exclaimed so loudly she was convinced people outside the room had heard her. With quick steps, she stood next to the billionaire, who fell into a chair with his hands in the air.

Steve groaned. ''Oh God, Tony! Every time.'' Fed up, he swung the pen around. ''Every time I think you see things the right way...''

''What? It's a 100 acres with a lap pool. It's got a screening room. There's worse ways to protect people.''

''Protection?'' Steve scoffed. There was no way he was signing now. ''Is that how you see this? This is protection? It's internment, Tony.''

Tony shrugged. ''She's not a US citizen.''

''Oh, come on, Tony.'' Steve was angry, and understandably so. Katya was angry too. How could Tony sit there knowing Wanda was imprisoned in her own home? As if she was only the weapon and not human? He was afraid of her, wary of her power, but this was too much.

''And they don't grant visas to weapons of mass destruction.''

Katya threw her hands in the air. They almost shook in anger. Wanda, time and time again, was a victim of her own powers. ''She's a kid!''

''Give me a break!'' Tony yelled loudly, finally letting go of the last pieces of control he had left. Both Katya and Steve fell silent. ''I'm doing what has to be done... to stave off something worse.''

Katya scoffed again, turning around and walking back to the other end of the room. There she stopped in front of the glass with her fists clenched. She tried to relax, but the thought of Wanda being treated like trash made her furious. And if the Accords did this to the witch, what did they do to the other Inhumans on the planet? Some had powers even more powerful and dangerous than her, did they need to be locked up too? 

''You keep telling yourself that,'' she heard Steve say angrily. His reflection in the glass was faint, but she saw him throw the pen back on the table. ''Hate to break up the set.'' 

With a hiss, the doors opened, letting the supersoldier out before they closed again, leaving the Avenger and the ex-Avenger in the vacuum. 

''Katya-'' Tony started carefully, but she had no intention of turning around. She had misjudged his character.

''No, Tony,'' she spoke to the glass, sensing him standing up. ''You don't see it yet, but you're wrong. I have nothing left to say to you.''

The man hung his head and slid his hands into the pockets of his pants. ''I'm sorry it had to go like this. I hope you and Romanoff work it out. If anything, that has to survive.''

As soon as the door closed behind him, Katya couldn't keep her rage in anymore. With her flat hand, she slammed on the glass hard and let out a loud cry of frustration. Apparently, the room wasn't soundproofed for that, because every single agent on the other side jumped and turned around. 

Only then her eye fell on Natasha, who stared at her with a sad expression. For some reason, it made Katya only more angry, and she spun around without mercy. Natasha's face fell, but she didn't see it anymore. 

Katya's fingers itched to throw something, punch something, shoot something. She was only more restless now that she knew Wanda was confined on the other side of the world. By not giving in to Tony's pleas and by not signing the Accords, she could at least try to protect her, stand up for her when she couldn't do it herself. 

That the brunette wasn't good in confinement got painfully clear when she started pacing again. So fast she was almost jogging. Back and forth along the length of the room, but it didn't help with anything. 

The huge clock on the wall -military time, digital numbers- counted every second she was in there. It was tempting to leave, but she would only be in more trouble. Who knew, maybe she would be thrown into an actual cell instead.

''If you keep walking back and forth in the same spot like that, your shoes will lose their soles by the night.''

Katya threw Sam such a deadly glare he cringed visibly. Childish as he was, he widened his eyes and almost jumped into Steve's arms. He tried making a joke out of it, which only pissed her off more. 

At this point, she honestly didn't know what would calm her down anymore. Usually when she was this pissed, she'd work it out by shooting magazines full of bullets, running miles around the compound or hitting something until her knuckles hurt. None of these things were an option here. 

''The hell have you been? I believe you had been ordered to stay in here too.'' The jab was meant for Steve too, who had also stalked out without any consequences. Apparently only the deadly assassin with the dozens of kills had to stay inside. 

''They had questions for me, about Romania,'' Sam answered, rolling a chair back and sitting in it. He was far from relaxed, but did his best to adjust to the situation. 

Steve walked to the exact same spot Katya had stood before. Instead, his eyes weren't trained on his own reflection, but on one of the screens, and it wasn't hard to guess which one. The pod, where Barnes was so rudely tied into, had been placed in an empty room. Well, almost empty. A table and a chair faced him, and a man stepped into view.

Katya stopped next to him, crossing her arms and leaning against the table. It was hard to see from this distance, but she didn't think she knew Bucky's evaluator. It sucked she couldn't hear what was being said. 

Natasha stood with her back to her, watching the same screen. She looked unbothered, but Katya saw her hands fidgeting. However, that could be caused by a lot of things and not only Barnes.

Katya didn't look back when the doors opened again. 

''The receipt for your gear,'' Sharon said monotonous. 

'''Bird costume'?'' Sam quoted, offended his suit had been branded that. ''Come on.''

Any other day, Katya would have laughed about it. Not today.

''I didn't write it,'' Sharon defended. Subtly, she leaned forward after glancing around carefully, and pressed a button on the intercom in the middle of the table. The sudden sound filling the room startled Katya, and to her surprise, the screen in the corner lit up, showing the same footage of Barnes' pod, but with audio.

Steve turned to the blonde in surprise, but she simply nodded. Maybe she wasn't so bad after all.

Out of the corner of her eye, Katya saw Natasha glance over her shoulder. She knew damn well what was going on in the office, but didn't do anything to stop it. Why didn't she? Had doubt started to settle in or was it simply because they were her friends.

''I'm not here to judge you. I just want to ask you a few questions. Do you know where you are, James?'' The evaluator's accent confused the brunette. Eastern European. But then again, this was the UN, which had employees from all over the world, like Michelle. ''I can't help you if you don't talk to me, James.''

''My name is Bucky,'' the man said dryly. It relieved Steve to hear his friend talk and not the Winter Soldier. This wasn't the mindless soldier, this was just a man. It lessened and lessened the belief he had bombed the UN. Why would he, when he was off the grid, come back and draw that much attention to himself? To kill the king of Wakanda? But why?

Steve picked up a photo from the file Sharon had also brought in. She probably shouldn't be showing them all this, but nobody came to stop him. The photos were stills from the camera footage. They were grainy, black and white and the man had a hood on that also covered his mouth. How the hell did they see Barnes in this so quickly?

''Why would the Task Force release this photo to begin with?'' Steve asked, his eyebrows pulled together in thought.

''Get the word out, involve as many eyes as we can?'' Sharon guessed. It was the best way to find someone. 

Katya took the picture from Steve and held it under the light. Meanwhile the voice of the evaluator still sounded loudly. She got that bad feeling in her chest again.

''Right. It's a good way to flush a guy out of hiding. Set off a bomb, get your picture taken. Get seven billion people looking for the Winter Soldier.''

Sharon grasped on to what he was saying. ''You're saying someone framed him to find him.''

''Steve, we looked for the guy for two years and found nothing,'' Sam chimed in. He was less convinced. Meanwhile Katya's eyes flickered between the photos, the file and the screen behind her. 

''We didn't bomb the UN. That turns a lot of heads.''

''Yeah,'' Sharon agreed, ''but that doesn't guarantee that whoever framed him would get him.''

Something clicked in Katya's head. She should have seen this coming. It was all too easy, too fast. She was right about the video, someone had faked it, set it up just so the UN could get Barnes. ''No, but it guarantees that you would,'' she said aloud. As soon as she did, realization dawned down on everyone. 

''Yeah,'' Steve breathed, turning back to the screen.

Katya dropped the photos and pointed at the screen behind her. Her eyes narrowed in on Sharon on their own accord. She was back to solving problems, being a spy again. ''Who is that guy? What's his name? Where did he come from?''

''I don't know.'' Sharon answered honestly. ''All I know is he was sent here by the UN. But I'm starting to doubt that now.''

Katya shook her head, turning to the screens on the wall. ''Something's wrong, you need to get that man out of there,'' she said anxiously. 

As if on cue, the lights cut out and the base was bathed in darkness. Red lights started flickering everywhere and the feed from the pod was cut off. There was a second where nothing happened. A second where the human brain had to process what was going on. 

''EMP,'' Katya muttered in the deafening silence that followed. Nothing else could have shut the building down like this. 

Steve turned to Sharon, and to everyone's surprise, she said, ''Sub-level 5, east wing.''

For a moment, Katya hesitated. If she followed Steve and Sam, her chances of ever getting a second chance to sign would be over. The chances of getting locked up would be bigger than ever. But she couldn't abandon Barnes. After all, he had been used like her, treated as a weapon like her, thrown into jail like a criminal and judged everywhere he went. 

He deserved the freedom, the second chance she got. She promised herself years ago she would grant the mercy Natasha had shown her, to someone else. First it was Wanda, but now there was Barnes, in which she saw pieces of herself.

Through the glass, her eyes met with green ones. They were pleading, begging Katya to stay put, but she mouthed 'sorry' and was off. 

Her ears got a smack when she stepped out of the silent office and into the busy control room where everyone was yelling and running around.

It felt good to run after all those hours locked up. It felt good to leave that godforsaken room and hear her quick footsteps on the floors. Because of her moment of doubt, she had to push harder to catch up with the two men. They always disappeared around the corner before she could turn it. 

She had no idea where sub-level five, east wing was, but Steve seemed to. The whole building was silent and dark, except for the red lights indicating warning. With each step she took, her choice to leave got more permanent.

Rounding another corner, she almost crashed into Sam. At first she was unsure why they were standing there, but then she spotted the unconscious man on the ground. 

They were too late.

Knowing glances were shared between the three Avengers. Suddenly this mission got a lot more dangerous. The Winter Soldier -not Bucky- was back. And he could rip your heart out with his metal arm before you saw it coming.

Crouching down next to the guard, Katya stole his gun and the extra magazines from his belt. She cocked the gun after making sure it was loaded, and kept it tightly in her hands. 

Steve went first, turning into an office leading to the containment pod. There must have been at least eight guards. All either unconscious or dead. Katya didn't want to know.

''Help me. Help.''

Her gun shot up in the direction of the sound. She knew that sound, had heard it before. 

She pushed past Sam and kept the evaluator at gunpoint as Steve rushed to him with big steps. The man was on the ground, acting innocent and a victim. Steve grabbed his jacket and hoisted him up without trouble. His feet dangled above the ground as his back hit the wall with a thud.

''Who are you?'' he asked angrily. Katya didn't think she had ever seen Steve this angry. ''What do you want?''

The man had the audacity to smirk, right in Captain America's face. ''To see an empire fall,'' he responded vaguely. At first, Katya thought he was talking about only Steve. To see Steve crumble now that he had lost his friend again, but then his evil eyes landed on her, her gun still aimed at his head.

''Take a deep breath,'' he said calmly. 

The effect of that simple sentence was insane. The way he said it, in a certain tone, had a wave of calmness roll over her. Steve had no idea what was going on, and neither did Sam. They stood there confused while the man continued. 

''Calm your mind.'' 

Her eyes glazed over and something itched in the back of her head. She tried to fight it, knew this was a way of turning her back into HYDRA, but her gun lowered on its own accord. 

''You know what is best-''

Steve snapped out of his trance and slammed the man against the wall harshly, cutting off his words. 

Katya was at a complete loss. She tried shaking her head to clear it, to push back the switch that was halfway to flipping over. Her hands shook. On the outside, she was a statue, on the inside, she fought a war. 

Flashes came back, flashes of her past. Things she had stashed away, far away. Of dark buildings, sweaty smells and painful feelings.

She was so far away she didn't see a shadow moving in the shadows next to her. Luckily, Sam was there to push her out of the way, catching the fist meant for her. 

This was enough to pull her back to reality. 

Barnes grabbed Sam by his chin and threw him over his head without any problems. He flew into the pod, crashing down on the ground with a loud groan. That must have hurt.

Out of instinct, she fired the gun. The bang echoed painfully between the concrete, making everyone wince. To her disappointment, it deflected off Barnes' metal arm. She wasn't a match for him, that was painfully clear. She was way too weak and small. Her kicks did nothing but annoy him more. 

When she made the mistake of not pulling her hand back fast enough, he grabbed her wrist and threw her against the wall easily, as if she didn't weigh anything.

Her back hit the concrete so fast it knocked all the air out of her lungs and she gasped for air, coughing endlessly. The gun slid away on the floor, leaving her even more defenseless.

She saw Steve let go of the evaluator and go after Barnes. Slowly, the evaluator walked over to her, a sly smile on his lips. Sam was too out of it to stop him, and Katya was still coughing her lungs out. 

''Take a deep breath. Calm your mind.'' The sea washed over her. All she heard was a quiet ringing and his voice. His voice took over her brain. She was no longer in control of herself, couldn't tell him to piss off, couldn't reach for the gun only a couple inches away from her hand. 

''You know what is best. What is best is you comply. Remember, your compliance will be rewarded,'' he finished. 

Katya had been brainwashed before, but never expected the words to have such an effect on her after all those years. She was no longer herself, she was the HYDRA soldier.

Slowly, she stood up, her eyes empty and face slacked. The gun went back in her hand as Sam stared up at her. He had never seen Katya this mindless before, like her soul got sucked out of her body. There was nothing he could do about it anymore.

The small man in front of her smirked. ''Are you ready to comply?'' 

''I'm happy to.''


	72. Heart, Mind, Soul

Sam stared up at his friend, her emotionless eyes waiting for an order from the smug man in front of her. It sent chills over his spine.

Katya felt nothing. No pain, no happiness, no guilt. As if the emotional part of her brain was shut off. All she could hear and see was the evaluator, his blue eyes the center of her world.

''Join your comrade, get out of this building.'' His plan was to divide the Avengers even more and rip not only one, but two friends away from the team. In this state, Katya would do what she did best, kill.

Out of instinct, as if their minds were merged together, Katya rushed after Barnes. Not to fight him this time, but to help him fight. He was HYDRA, she was HYDRA. That's how simple it was.

She didn't see the dent in the elevator door as she passed it on the way out, didn't hear the grunts from within the shaft. 

Up, she had to go up. She was in the cellar now but needed to get out of the building. Barnes would have figured the same. The guards in the building were lucky they didn't come for her. They hadn't noticed she had turned, so instead they went for Barnes.

With three steps at a time, she ran up the stairs. Sub-level 5, Sub-level 4, all the way until she reached the ground floor. Not feeling the exhaustion in her body, not feeling her heart screaming at her to wake up.

She ended up in some sort of canteen. An open, light space with lots of tables and chairs. Her brain was fighting the mind control, but not fast enough, not hard enough. All she could think about was getting Barnes and getting out.

''Psst, Petrova,'' she suddenly heard from her right. Tony had spotted her and tried calling her over. But as soon as their eyes met, his widened in shock. These weren't the blue eyes he had gotten used to, with humor, pain and happiness mixed together. They had turned into bottomless oceans, nothing behind them. 

Katya raised her gun, shot, and missed the billionaire who was just in time to jump behind a pilar. The Avengers, they were against HYDRA, so they had to die, all of them. 

It was not her main objective to kill them, but if they prevented her from doing that, they were collateral damage. Simply people in her way preventing her from completing the mission.

''What the hell?!'' Tony shrieked. The bullet had lodged itself in the pilar he hid behind. He tapped on his wrist, and out shot an Iron Man glove. Of course he never traveled anywhere without at least part of his suit. But never did he expect to use it on one of his best friends. 

''We're in position,'' Natasha calmly said in his ear. They had a plan to capture Barnes, but hadn't counted on Katya turning to the dark side again. 

''Yeah, about that...'' he answered, ducking again to avoid another bullet as Katya kept coming closer, which the redhead heard over her comms.

''What's going on?'' she asked anxiously. From her position, she couldn't see anything.

Tony peeked around the concrete and aimed at the brunette's legs, shooting one of his laser beams at them. It was more to immobilize her, not kill her. ''Your girlfriend has turned evil.''

Natasha's breath hitched in her throat and her heart stopped. ''What? What do you mean?'' She tried glancing into the canteen, but was unable to find her.

''I mean, she is shooting at me!'' He looked around the corner again, retracting his head just in time to avoid another bullet. Katya was getting closer by the second and he was out of options. Maybe he should blast her in her chest. Just enough to knock her out but not wound her.

''What the hell happened?!''

''I don't know! But my money is on that evaluator.'' He jumped away behind the pilar and shot a powerful soundwave Katya's way. 

It disoriented her and started a ringing in her ear. She brought her hands up to her ears and shook her head heavily to get rid of it. For only a couple seconds she was out of it, but those seconds were enough for Natasha to sneak up to her and stop a couple feet away.

''Katya,'' she said gently.

Katya's eyes snapped to the sound of her name and landed on the woman in front of her. Natasha stood straight, but not confident. The idea of having to fight her own fiancée made the redhead want to crawl into a corner and cry. It hurt to have Katya look at her, but not recognize her.

She opened her mouth to try and talk her way into her head, ignoring the tugging at her heart. 

But without warning, Katya shot at her. Without mercy, she had pulled the trigger. As if the woman opposite her was nothing more than another person she had to kill.

Natasha saw it coming, knew exactly Katya's tells, and jumped to the side. Her eyes widened in shock. She really just tried to kill her.

''Please, babe, I don't want to fight you. Put down the gun,'' she begged, ignoring how her legs felt like jelly. She thought maybe using the pet name she always used would break through, but nothing happened.

Katya stood with a robotic expression on her face. Eyes empty and body still. However, if you watched closely, you would see her gun-holding hand shake the tiniest bit. It was still aimed at Natasha's head. ''Let me go and I won't have to kill you.''

''I can't do that.'' Natasha put her hands up, slowly taking steps closer, but stopped when Katya's finger tightened around the trigger. ''Please, Katya. Fight it.'' Her vision started to get blurry, but no tears fell.

Something flickered behind Katya's eyes, but it was gone just as quickly. Natasha felt hope flare up in her chest. Maybe if she could keep going like this, she would break through. But her eye fell on movement to her right, next to the brunette. Another Agent got ready to shoot her. Aiming his gun at the shiny brown hair.

''No. Don't!'' Natasha yelled, but it was too late. Katya had put a bullet in his chest before he could fire his own weapon. He dropped to the ground, blood spreading over the white tiles. 

Another kill to add to her already long list. 

Natasha didn't see a way out of this soon. She needed to prevent more people from getting hurt. Katya was a out of control.

''I'm sorry,'' the redhead muttered, grabbing a Widow Bite from her pocket and throwing it. 

It attached itself to Katya's leg and she dropped to the ground, shuddering heavily. It was a horrible sight and Natasha wished she would pass out instead of feeling the electricity run through her body, but that didn't happen. 

When she came closer to make sure it was over and Katya was out, she got kicked her right shin, Katya hooking her legs around the other, flooring the redhead successfully. 

Still, her objective was to leave, not kill the Avengers. So Katya ran off after not spotting Winter Soldier anywhere, pulling the glass doors at the end of the room open and stepping into the warm, Berlin sun, leaving her fiancée a mess.

Natasha pushed herself up on her elbows and watched her go, blinking the pain from her features. She knew she should go after her, but she couldn't move, let alone stand. Eventually Stark was the one who offered a hand. He didn't say anything. The look on both their faces was enough. 

Katya ran between the fleeing employees, away from the building, trying to get into the city and escape. Where, she didn't know, but she couldn't wait here. 

To her luck, or to her misfortune, she bumped into a man in the middle of the chaos. Her head was still foggy from being electrocuted, making it hard to focus. But no matter the reason, she still ran into him. 

She wanted to continue on, but he grabbed her arm firmly and spun her around. Before she knew what happened, he muttered a sorry and punched her in the jaw. Her body slacked and crumbled to the ground.

Sam sat there with his brunette friend in his arms. What should he do, bring her back inside and let the UN take her of her? No, they would treat her like they had treated Barnes. Like a criminal. 

He had seen what happened, it wasn't her fault she got turned back. But she had killed an Agent and they wouldn't let that slide. 

He had no choice but to pick her up and take her with him. In the distance, Steve climbed out of the pond, an unconscious Bucky in his arms. The supersoldier nodded at his friend to follow him, which he did without question, the gun slipping from Katya's hands.

~~~~~

''Ow,'' Katya groaned softly. It wasn't supposed to slip out, but it did. Her arms hurt, and pretty soon she found out why. They were tied behind her back, which was leaning against the backrest of a chair. Her feet were tied to the wooden piece of furniture too, but if she wanted, she could still get out.

Her head hurt and that was an understatement. It wasn't pain from a wound or a bruise, it was a throbbing pain in the back of her brain. She had come out of mind control before, but it had been a while and the pain made her physically sick. As if she wanted to throw up the bad memories. 

Breathing in through her nose, she glanced up slowly. Her head was foggy, but she did remember Sam knocking her out. For once in her life, she was glad someone knocked the light out.

''Hey, Cap!'' the man yelled loudly as he noticed she had woken up. 

''Jeez, Sam. Do you really need to yell that loud?'' Katya groaned. She was already busy untying her hands behind her back, but the others didn't see that. 

Part of her had expected him to joke back, but he stopped in front of her with a serious look on his face. He that wasn't sure what to think. 

Katya relaxed in the chair, fixing her gaze on the floor. ''Listen, I'm really sorry you had to see that. Apparently all they have to do is say those damn words and I'm a goner.'' She felt empty, drained. As if her soul had been sucked out of her and was still busy settling down. 

Steve's shoes came into view and she carefully glanced up at the soldier. He wore the same expression as Sam, unsure what woman he was talking to. 

''How many people did I kill?'' she whispered, muscles burning.

Steve's eyes softened. ''Don't do that to yourself-''

But she wasn't listening. A memory, an image popped in her head. It always took a while before everything came back. ''Nat, she was there.'' She shot up, her eyes widening in anxiety. ''Please tell me she's fine.''

Sam dared place a hand on her shoulder. ''She's fine,'' he smiled softly. Apparently he was convinced she was back. ''Your bullets missed her.''

''I shot at her?'' Katya exclaimed, guilt washing over her. When Sam nodded, she chuckled sadly. ''Wow we are a seriously messed up couple.'' She forced all the guilt and sadness to the back of her head. Threw it in a vault and locked the door. That had gotten easier the more she had been brainwashed.

There was too much to deal with. Their escape from the building, the UN looking for them because of that fact. Natasha was alive and the rest of her team was too, that mattered most. She would try to fix the broken trust later.

Steve was still a little wary of her, even though he didn't see her brainwashed state. ''Let's get these ropes off you, shall we?'' Sam moved to her back, but Katya stuck her hands in the air casually.

''No need,'' she said, bending down to untie her legs.

Sam's head snapped between the woman and Steve, who just smiled. ''Wha-''

Steve shrugged. ''I have learned not to question it.''

A sudden, very loud sound overhead made the trio look up. ''Choppers? They're really using all available resources to find us, aren't they?'' Katya tried to joke, but the reality was, she was sad. Sad it all went like this. 

She understood why Sam had taken her here and not left her at the UN, but it meant she was now a criminal and they were hunting her like she had never been hunted before. ''Where are we anyway?''

She stood from her chair and wandered through the abandoned warehouse. All concrete walls, ceiling and floor, machinery here and there, but all rusty and old. Probably something to do with metal. 

Her whole body ached and she knew exactly why. Electricity had ran through her muscles. Enough to make her pass out, but for some reason that hadn't happened. It was a really awkward ache, one where every move hurt. 

She was happy to get away from her friends' judging stares. They didn't know what it was like to lose yourself in your own body. For your soul to be ripped out and replaced by that of an animal. Killing without mercy, no emotions, following orders like a slave, those were the things that summed up mind control. 

It was a bad hangover, waking up from one. One where you vaguely remembered what had happened, but it was all blurry and hazy. The worst part was always the aftermath. While you were under, you had no idea of your actions and no feelings about them. But afterwards, all that guilt hit you at once. 

Now, she had only killed one Agent, which was still horrible but better than twenty. What bothered her most is she could have killed her own fiancée if she would have wanted. Katya without morals, a mindless beast, against Natasha who would never want to hurt her, was an already determined match.

Through a crack in the wall of the warehouse, Katya could look outside without being spotted. They weren't far from the UN building, it could still be seen in the distance, and an abandoned warehouse was a very predictable hideout spot.

She gathered all her emotions and thoughts and jogged back, rounding the corner of a room the two men had disappeared into. ''We can't stay here long-'' 

Her feet stopped dead in their tracks. For some reason, Sam and Steve had kept them in separate rooms, so she didn't know Barnes was here until his icy blue eyes stared at her from across the room. And they were filled with recognition. 

''Katariina,'' he breathed, surprising everyone. His long hair had fallen into his face, making it hard to see him, but this wasn't the merciless soldier she had gotten to know. The men had clamped his metal arm in between some serious looking equipment in case it wasn't Barnes who came back. But apparently getting a brainwashed person unconscious was enough to break the spell.

Conflicted feelings ran through her body. She had never seen him like this. So vulnerable, so real. She had never seen Barnes, only the Soldier. ''Now you remember. Couldn't you remember that when you tried to kill me back in D.C. a couple years ago?''

Carefully, she stepped closer. Now she knew what Sam and Steve had felt only a couple minutes before. Her fingers itched for a weapon.

Barnes averted his eyes. He knew he was staring at her for too long, but he hadn't seen the brunette in years. ''I'm sorry, I-'' He shook his head and hung his shoulders. ''I knew this would happen. Everything HYDRA put inside me is still there. All he had to do was say the goddamn words.''

''I know how you feel, Soldat.''

Steve, who was deeply confused with what was going on here but pushing it to the side for now, looked back and forth between the two assassins. ''Who was he?''

Katya shrugged as Barnes muttered, ''I don't know.''

The supersoldier clenched his fists in annoyance. He was running out of patience, which was not surprising. ''People are dead. The bombing, the setup. The doctor did all that just to get ten minutes with you. I need you to do better than "I don't know."''

Barnes thought hard. It was difficult to see how much he struggled to put the pieces back together. How cruel the world could be to one person. ''He wanted to know about Siberia,'' he suddenly said, eyes shooting back and forth as if that helped him remember. ''Where I was kept. He wanted to know exactly where.'' 

''Why would he need to know that?'' Steve asked confused. But in Katya's head, alarms started to go off. Why didn't she think about this sooner.

She caught Barnes' eyes and he nodded softly, as if he could read her mind. ''Because he's not the only Winter Soldier,'' she whispered. She stepped even closer to the broken soldier on the chair. ''I thought they were all dead.''

''No, they're frozen like me. Ready to be used whenever they want.''

A tense silence followed, one where shivers ran down Katya's spine. Not from the cold, but from fear. She had never met the other Winter Soldiers, since they liked working alone, but she'd heard their reputation. Difficult missions, but executed to perfection.

''Who were they?'' Steve asked, causing Katya to turn around and explain.

She ran a shaky hand through her hair, which made Sam frown. The woman was not easily scared, so these must be very deadly people. ''Their most elite death squad. More kills than anyone in HYDRA history.''

''And that was before the serum,'' Barnes added.

Sam spoke up for the first time, nodding at the man. ''They all turn out like you?'' 

For people who had never seen them, it was hard to picture the strength and danger eradiating from those soldiers. They tended to be underestimated, which was the biggest mistake anyone could make. There were no better killers than the Winter Soldiers. 

''Worse,'' Barned answered. 

Katya had begun pacing again. Back and forth in front of his chair. The heavy feeling on her shoulders only getting worse. 

He followed her with his eyes, still amazed she stood right in front of him. They had met in HYDRA and also during the fall of SHIELD, but he hadn't been himself then. He didn't feel anything. Now, she was someone who could relate to everything he went through. Someone from his past who was a reminder of goodness and redemption.

Steve crossed his arms, frowning. ''The doctor, could he control them?''

''Enough.''

''Said he wanted to see an empire fall,'' Steve looked at Sam. They were both tired and done with the fighting, and now this was thrown on their plate too. However, it was impossible to ignore this new threat. 

A threat only the Avengers could handle. But what did you do when the Avengers were split up in two? Did you go after the Soldiers yourself, risking a life in prison, or did you let Tony handle it?

''With these guys, he could do it. They speak thirty languages, can hide in plain sight, infiltrate, assassinate, destabilize. They can take a whole country down in one night. You'd never see them coming.''

Sam stepped closer to Steve so he could speak in private. Katya joined, knowing it would have to do with a game plan. ''This would have been a lot easier a week ago,'' Sam murmured, glancing back at Barnes, who had hung his head. 

''If we call Tony...'' Steve started, trailing off. 

Katya crossed her arms, knowing the billionaire's stubbornness. ''No, he won't believe us.''

''Even if he did...''

''Who knows if the Accords would let him help,'' Sam finished, nodding in confirmation. 

Steve sighed, glancing between his team mates and friends. They had to do this themselves. ''We're on our own.''

Katya ignored the pang in her chest, really wishing she could go to Natasha for advice on what to do. Really wishing she stood there next to Sam. She would have been able to help Katya with the demons in her head, the memories from the past hour flashing behind her eyelids.

''Maybe not,'' Sam said carefully. ''I know a guy.''

Katya widened her eyes as she realized who he meant, her nose wrinkled in disgust. ''No,'' she said sternly, surprising the men. 

Sam smirked. He knew his idea wouldn't be well-received by her. ''We need allies, Kat. We can't do this by the three of us.''

She groaned. ''He's an idiot.''

''No, he...'' Sam trailed off, re-considering his answer, ''okay yes, he is an idiot. But he can fight and we need him.''

Katya spun around in her spot and moved to free Barnes' arm from its trap. The man was following the conversation with pure confusion. Part of him wanted to ask, but he didn't feel obliged to. ''Ugh, fine, but I'm not sitting in one car with him.''

''You don't have to, because he's not the only person we're calling in.''

She chuckled, thinking she knew who Steve meant. ''Clint's gonna be so pissed.'' He would be. Retired for only a little while and he's dragged back into their shit, disappointing his family by going back into this life. She felt kinda sorry for calling him up, but he was a grown man. If he didn't want to help, he could say so and nobody would resent him for that.

''I'm not talking about Clint.''

The smile fell off her face at the same time her foot froze mid-step. She turned back around so fast she was almost a blur. A dangerous scowl was on her face. ''No.''

''Kat-''

''I said, no!'' she yelled, startling Barnes. Such a powerful sound from such a small woman. ''We're not dragging Wanda into this! She's already in a difficult position as it is. If she goes around using her power, destroying more buildings and killing people- and it doesn't matter if they're assassins- she will be locked up for the rest of her life. Her powers stripped away from her, alone in a dark cell.''

She had no idea why she had such a short fuse the past few days. Normally she was much more collected, but it was all getting too much to handle. 

For once, Steve was done with her attitude. Instead of the usual calm tone he used, it was now as frustrated as hers. He stepped closer, their faces close together. ''You don't make choices for her, Katya. Clint goes to the compound and asks her to come. She comes, great, she doesn't, that's fine too and we'll understand. But she's capable of making her own decisions.''

His tone surprised her so much that she forgot everything. There was no debate possible. And while she wasn't happy about it, he was right. She had to stop speaking for Wanda and let her make her own decisions. In fact, Katya was now doing what she was afraid would happen to herself if she signed. 

A bit of doubt started to settle in her chest. Suddenly she could see the other side's view too. Katya wanted to protect Wanda by making decisions for her that were right. At least in her eyes. That was all the UN wanted too: make decisions they believed were right for the Avengers. Tony, Vision, Rhodey, Natasha, they all wanted the best for the team.

Without breaking eye-contact with Steve, she grumbled, ''I'll find us a car.''


	73. How Did We Get Here?

The only freakin' car Katya could find in the vicinity of the building, was an ancient Volkswagen Beetle. What an amazing, nostalgic choice. It surprised her that it even started.

Being the smallest of the group of four, she was dragged out the driver's seat and forced into the back with Barnes, who did his best not to stare at her. In fact, he had pushed his body as far to the side of the car as he could, as if he was afraid of accidentally touching her. 

While she was out, the men had made a plan and she had got to admit, it wasn't bad. First, call Carter -which was risky because she was still with the UN- to get their gear back, then, drive to the nearest airport and use a chopper to get out. The chopper, Clint would provide.

Katya wished she could relax while Steve drove through the city, but that was impossible when they were still being hunted and when Katya's mind was shifting through her memories, pinpointing the brainwashed ones. Every time one floated to the surface, she flinched subtly, accompanied by a wave of guilt and shame. 

So to distract herself, she kept a close eye on the surrounding vehicles at all times, both on the ground and in the air. A helicopter passed them a couple times, but nothing happened. Maybe the Beetle wasn't such a bad idea after all.

''Katariina,'' Barnes suddenly muttered in the silence of the car. His whole posture was insecure.

Katya didn't turn around. In the direction of her tiny window, she answered, ''Name's Katya now, soldier.'' She hoped he'd shut up. She was really not feeling anything for a talk with him. Not in this car, not with the two men in the front listening in.

A tiny smile flashed over his face, but it was gone quickly. ''I'm sorry,'' he finally said.

Confused, she turned around, feeling Steve's eyes on them via the rearview mirror. ''For what?''

His blue eyes jumped around the car. It was weird to see such a strong man be insecure and awkward. ''Bringing you into this mess.''

Katya chuckled, turning back to the window. ''Hate to break it to you, but that wasn't all you. It's mostly my fault.''

''Still, I'm sorry for all the pain I've caused you in the past.''

Steve had just driven out of the city, following the railway line into a more quiet area of Germany. It was peaceful, the green fields, but Katya had always liked cities better. ''It's okay, it wasn't your fault.''

Nobody spoke after that. It was definitely an awkward silence, with nobody knowing what to talk about. Everything was already said.

Wanda would have a field day reading Katya's mind. Not that she did that or enjoyed the depressing thoughts, but there were so many, it would crush her if she listened in. No matter how hard Katya tried not to think back, she couldn't close the door of the room she stuffed the memories into. 

Every time it nearly fell into the lock, Tony's hurt eyes slipped out, Natasha's pleading voice rang in her ears and Sam's terrified stare burned through her. 

In the distance, under an overpass, after a good half hour of driving, a sleek silver Audi waited for them. It had been a huge risk to call Carter, but they needed their gear to fight and she was the only one they slightly trusted. ''Be careful, Steve. It could be a trap,'' Katya stopped him before he could step out.

''It's not,'' was his simple answer.

''He's still reckless and self-destructive, isn't he?'' Barnes sighed as soon as Steve was out of earshot. Katya shot him a look that said enough. 

Out of the Audi stepped Sharon, greeting Steve with a quick nod and opening the trunk of the car. Steve's red, blue and silver shield stuck out like a sore thumb, but their stuff was all there. Sam's wings, Katya's suit. She'd brought it with her to Vienna in her bag because of a feeling she might need it.

''Can you move your seat up?'' Barnes suddenly asked Sam. Katya glanced over and saw his legs were indeed being crushed by Sam's front seat. The rivalry between two men got painfully obvious when Sam stayed completely still.

''No.''

She rolled her eyes and was about to tell him to shut up when Steve and Sharon moved closer together and kissed.

Out of instinct, she scrunched up her face while the boys around her nodded in approval. ''Ew, no, gross. Men are gross.'' Sam and Bucky turned to her, raising an offended and questioning eyebrow respectively. ''What? She's Peggy's niece! It's been only a couple days since she was buried!''

Their smiles dropped after that, realizing she was right. Steve grabbed the stuff from the trunk after letting Sharon go, and gave everyone their items. Again, there was an awkward silence as they drove to the airport. Since they were now driving into a city again, everyone kept their eyes open for any government cars or motorcycles.

Leipzig might not be as big as Berlin, but there were a lot of people that could spot them. 

Without trouble, they got to the parking garage where the others would be waiting. Katya grew restless the closer they came. She wanted to see her team mates again. 

On the sixth level, Steve parked the tiny car next to a big white van. As soon as he got out of his seat, Katya pushed it forward and climbed out. She ignored Clint, who greeted the blond with a handshake, and instead stalked over to Wanda, who climbed out of the passenger's seat.

She looked okay, ready even. And caught Katya's hug before it could knock her over. ''You shouldn't be here,'' the brunette whispered as she pulled back quickly, looking into the younger woman's eyes.

Wanda shrugged and shook the worries off. ''It was time to get off my ass. I can't let people's fear, my fear, hold me back.''

Katya nodded, proud she had come to that conclusion, but the worry didn't disappear. Part of her wished Wanda would turn around and drive back to the compound where she was safe. But they could really use her magic on this mission. ''You know, if you do this, there is no turning back. When they catch us, and they will, they'll lock you up.''

Wanda laid a hand on her shoulder. ''I know, Katya. But I can't risk these assassins coming out into the free world and we are the only ones strong enough and able to eliminate them.''

Both of them turned to look at Clint as he walked to the back door, ready to drag it open. ''Had to put a little coffee in him, but... he should be good.''

The bang of the door startled the man inside awake. He lay across the whole backseat, his feet up on the seats. Unsure, he stepped out and tried to make sense of where he was. Had Clint drugged him or something?

''What time zone is this?'' he asked confused. Katya rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, sharing an exasperated look with Wanda. They had come across Scott Lang a couple years ago, when he was trying to break into the facility. He was annoying and tiring, but kind and a good opponent. 

Clint ushered him out of the van. ''Come on. Come on.''

As if he was seeing a unicorn, Lang stumbled towards Steve, extending his hand for him to shake. ''Captain America.''

''Mr. Lang,'' Steve responded kindly. There was no time for extended introductions. They needed to go before the cameras in the garage spotted them and sent the signal through to the UN. 

''It's an honor. I'm shaking your hand too long. Wow! This is awesome! Captain America.'' He turned to look behind him, where Wanda stood. ''I know you, too. You're great!'' He grabbed Steve's shoulders to look as his physique. ''Jeez. Ah, look, I wanna say, I know you know a lot of super people, so thanks for thinking of me.'' Then he spotted Sam. ''Hey, man!''

Sam nodded in greeting. Katya couldn't make out if he was annoyed by the man or if he liked him. ''What's up, Tic Tac?''

Then Scott turned to her, ignoring her defensive posture and rambling as he stepped closer. ''Katya, wow. Just wanna say, my daughter is a big fan. She's a little too young to know what you really do for a job, but hey, she thinks you're amazing.''

He startled her by clapping her shoulder out of nowhere. On instinct, she grabbed his wrist, twisted it behind his back and slammed his body against the van. The team behind her made surprised sounds and she was quick to realize her mistake. 

''Sorry, force of habit,'' she said awkwardly as she let him go.

Scott shook his arm, trying to get rid of the pain as he looked everywhere but up, embarrassed by the mistake he made. ''It's good, I'm good.''

''They tell you what we're up against?'' Steve finally got to the point.

''Something about some... psycho-assassins?'' Lang guessed. He hadn't really understood anything from what Clint had told him, but the Avengers needed him so he was ready to follow.

Steve sighed. He felt sorry to drag everyone into this, knowing it would come back to bite them in the ass. ''We're outside the law on this one. So, if you come with us, you're a wanted man.''

''Yeah, well, what else is new?'' Scott jokingly said. Katya's respect for him went up after the words had left his mouth. He had a family, a little girl, had been in touch with the bad side of society a couple times but still chose to go with Clint. All this for people who hadn't even spoken to him before.

''We should get moving,'' Barnes chimed in. He was still by the car, not feeling as if he belonged with the team. It must be painful for him to not belong anywhere anymore. Katya knew that pain like no other.

Clint agreed with him. He was a bit wary of the soldier, but if Steve trusted him and Katya tolerated him, he did too. ''We got a chopper lined up.''

Everyone nodded and was ready to follow him, but an alarm went off and interrupted their plan. If an alarm went off while the situation was already fragile, it couldn't be any good.

The speakers in the garage crackled and a German voice announced, ''Dies ist eine Notsituation. Alle Passagiere müssen den Flughafen sofort evakuieren.'' (This is an emergency. All passengers must evacuate the airport immediately.)

Luckily, German was almost Katya's third language with how long she had spent in the country in the past. She quickly translated it for the non-German speaking team members. ''They're evacuating the airport.''

''Stark,'' Sam said what they were all thinking. Another chink in their plan. If Tony and the other half of the team were here, it would be so much harder to get to the chopper and fly out of here. They were an obstacle, hindering them from getting to Siberia and prevent a catastrophe. 

Katya got nauseous, thinking about the idea of having to fight her friends. She hoped it wouldn't come to that. That they would listen to what was going on and believe them. But Tony was never going to believe anything Barnes told him.

''Stark?'' Lang questioned. How much of the explanation had Clint left out of his story? Did he even know the Avengers broke up?

''Suit up,'' Steve ordered. He was beyond sad and frustrated. He knew where this was going too.

Katya grabbed her suit, shook her jacket off and pulled her shirt over her head. Multiple people's eyes were on her as they froze in the middle of changing themselves. In her bra and jeans, she turned to the men without a single care in the world, her hands on her hips in a challenging way. 

They were quick to avert their eyes, suddenly very busy with their own uniform. ''Sorry boys, this has already been claimed.'' 

Wanda chuckled behind her, the display of confidence combined with the red faces of all the men -except Clint- around her was hilarious.

''I can see that,'' Sam said smugly, looking at a spot on her body just below her face. The hickey was still there. Not as dark anymore, but it still stuck out heavily. 

Katya threw her shirt in his direction, hitting him right in his face. ''Shut up Sam.'' She turned back to Wanda, rolling her eyes as she also took her shoes off. ''Children.''

~~~~~

''Katya, you're with me,'' Steve started explaining the plan. ''Sam, Bucky, you go into the terminals, find their Quinjet. We're gonna steal it. Wanda, stay with Clint. You guys circle up into the garage for a good vantage point. And Scott, let's see how small you can get.'' 

Lang shrunk until Katya couldn't see him anymore, which was really disturbing and weird. He climbed onto Steve's shield, hiding there since he was their secret weapon, someone nobody knew about. Maybe they could smuggle him to Siberia without the others noticing. 

Sam nodded at Katya as a way of saying goodbye, and jogged with Barnes into the terminals to find Tony's Quinjet. It was likely Tony had found the chopper by now and they needed a new way to get out. 

Since Clint and Wanda were both people who'd only be called in if they were truly needed, they would stay into the garage for now. Both of them had the most to lose if it turned sour, which was very likely with two alpha males on both sides.

Katya told Wanda to be careful before she left. She watched the retreating figure of the young woman. She was happy she was with Clint. He would take care of her.

All suited up, Katya walked next to Steve onto the private runway the chopper still stood. As soon as they stepped away from the cover of the terminal and into view, they started running. Maybe if they were quick, they would get to the chopper in time, but a small device was attached to the vehicle, sending an electronic current that shut it down, making it useless.

Unsurprisingly, Tony and Rhodey flew in, landing a small distance away from her and Steve. Katya retracted her hand from the gun on her hip that Clint had so kindly brought her. She didn't want to shoot at her friends again.

Tony's head became visible. He wasn't here to fight, he was here to talk. ''Wow, it's so weird how you run into people at the airport,'' he said sarcastically, turning to Rhodey who landed next to him. ''Don't you think that's weird?''

''Definitely weird,'' the Colonel agreed.

Tony acknowledged Katya's small but confident appearance next to the soldier. It hurt him to see her stand opposite him. He liked the spy. ''Katya, good to see you're back. Wait, are you back? Because I'd rather not you shoot at me again.''

''Very funny,'' she said dryly. She was glad she hadn't seen Natasha yet. Her resolve to fight would certainly crumble down then. ''No, I'm back and I'm sorry about that.''

''It's all good. I saw the footage. We'll need to figure that out when you come back home,'' Tony offered, meaning he would like to find a solution to the response she had to the words Zemo had spoken to her. 

It surprised Katya how much confidence he still had she would make the right choice. He wasn't questioning if she came home, but when. Tony never gave up on his friends.

''Hear me out, Tony,'' Steve calmly started. The goal was still to get past him and get to the Quinjet Sam would hopefully find quickly. ''That doctor, the psychiatrist, he's behind all of this.''

A soft thud next to Katya startled her and she turned to it defensively. A man, all clad in black, slowly raised from his crouched position. His suit had pointy ears and claws and a silver necklace hang around his neck. This must be the Black Panther.

''Huh, I can see how Sam thought it was a cat.''

''Thank you, Katya!'' the man yelled in her ear, to which she smiled to herself like an idiot.

''Captain, Petrova,'' T'Challa nodded in respect. He didn't walk over to the two Iron Men, instead he stayed on Katya's right hand, which she did not like. It gave her a feeling of being boxed in, which only made her more nervous. She was still nauseous but kept her back straight and her chin up.

''Your highness,'' Steve nodded back.

''Anyway,'' Tony interrupted, dragging the conversation back on track. ''Ross gave me thirty-six hours to bring you in. That was twenty-four hours ago. Can you help a brother out?''

Katya pulled a nasty face at the Secretary's name. Of course Ross would be the one to order the hunt on them. Her feelings about him were right, but at least he had given Tony the opportunity to catch them first instead of sending the military in. 

Steve stood his ground. He was convinced of his beliefs, which was admiring but very frustrating for Tony. ''You're after the wrong guy.''

''Your judgment is askew. Your old war buddy killed innocent people yesterday,'' Tony said. Katya hung her head. So did she. But it wasn't nice of Tony to put everything on Barnes. He didn't trust him, which was understandable, but he should at least hear them out and trust her and Steve. 

Steve was running out of patience too, mirroring Tony's tone. ''And there are five more super soldiers just like him.''

''Tony, please listen to him,'' Katya begged. It had effect, because he listened intently. He wanted to fix this and didn't want a fight. ''This threat is real and we need your help. Please let us pass because the world is in danger again.''

The billionaire shook his head. ''And you are no longer authorized to protect it. You didn't sign, end of story. Let us handle it.''

''I can't let the doctor find them first, Tony. I can't,'' Steve said.

The next voice, spoken from behind Katya by the only person in the world who could sneak up on her, froze her right into place and made her heart skip a beat.

''Steve...you know what's about to happen. Do you really wanna punch your way out of this one?''

Katya was in doubt. Should she turn around and risk her confidence shattering, or did she ignore her and let her pride win? She chose for the latter, staring at Tony instead. But that didn't protect her from the piercing green eyes on her back.

Steve looked at Natasha, didn't answer her, and then back to Tony. If fighting is what it took to get to Siberia, so be it. But Katya suddenly wasn't so sure anymore. What's to say the UN won't listen? What if they could convince them to investigate the situation in Siberia and send the Avengers there legally? 

Maybe they should stand down and let them handle it. Was a group of Winter Soldiers really worth destroying the Avengers over? 

There was no time to think, because Tony made the decision for her. ''All right, I've run out of patience.'' He raised his hands to his mouth and shouted, ''Underoos!''

Within seconds, a being flew over her head, shot something at Steve's shield and hands and jumped onto a machine behind Tony. Katya narrowed her eyes at the small human. A kid, clad in a red suit with blue accents from head to toe. The hell was he supposed to be?

''Nice job, kid,'' Tony praised the boy who held the shield proudly.

''The hell is that?'' Katya asked confused, trying to make sense of the stuff binding Steve's hands together and the fact the boy had swung so high over their heads. For some reason, she had been spared from the sticky stuff.

''Cap- Captain,'' the kid saluted Steve, who smiled at his awkwardness. ''Big fan, I'm Spider-Man.''

''You've been busy,'' Steve joked with Tony. But for once, the billionaire didn't answer it with his own joke. He was angry, tilting the conversation towards a point they didn't want it to go. A peaceful ending seemed less likely by the second.

Meanwhile, Katya tried desperately to ignore the green eyes drilling into the back of her head. Her whole being screamed at her to turn around to see the bright hair and feel the familiar warm feeling in her chest, but it was easier to ignore her so she didn't have to deal with the guilt.

''And you've been a complete idiot. Dragging in Clint. 'Rescuing' Wanda from a place she doesn't even want to leave, a safe place. I'm trying to keep...'' Tony choked on his own emotions and had to take a deep breath. ''I'm trying to keep you from tearing the Avengers apart.''

Steve kept his head high, while Katya's fell lower and lower. ''You did that when you signed.''

While she did agree with her choice not to sign, the lines between the two parties started to get more permanent and more aggressive. All she wanted was simply not to be under government control, which was an understandable reason seeing her past. But it had turned into so much more. Wanda, the team, dragging people into their mess, guilt, hate. 

These were supposed to be Earth's Mightiest Heroes? They were arguing like a bunch of children.

''Alright, We're done.'' Tony raised his voice, something he only did when really pissed. ''You're gonna turn Barnes over, you're gonna come with us. Now! Because it's us or a squad of J-SOC guys with no compunction about being impolite.'' Steve looked away and Tony begged him to change his mind. ''Come on.''

Katya turned to look at the soldier next to her. Carefully, she started, ''Steve, maybe he's right and we need to-''

Steve looked hurt and betrayed, but she would never hear his answer.

''We found it! Their Quinjet's in hanger five, north runway,'' Sam announced happily.

Now was the part where she made a choice. Did she fight, or did she back off? 

She didn't know. She didn't know.

The moment was past, the decision was made for her. Steve raised his hands in the air and an arrow shot through the goo with incredible precision. This started a whole series of events. Tony who put his helmet back on and snapped around to find Clint, and Scott who revealed himself on the shield.

''Hey, guys, something-'' Spider-Man started, seeing the tiny man walk over the edge of the shield.

He was cut off when Scott turned back to normal, kicked him in the chest and claimed the shield back, before landing elegantly on the ground. ''I believe this is yours, Captain America,'' he handed the shield back from Captain's other side. 

Katya stood completely lost between all the heroes who sprang into action. Tony and Rhodey flew up. She couldn't hear what they said, because they were discussing things via their private comms. But Tony flew in Wanda's direction and Rhodey moved for Cap.

T'Challa sprinted towards the terminal. It wasn't hard to guess who he was after. Steve sprinted after him when he had shrug off Rhodey. Spider-Man shot some of his webs and launched himself onto the side of the terminal, where Sam and Barnes were running through.

This left the two women and Scott on the runway. Katya still didn't turn around, not even when Scott moved for Natasha. There was no way she was going to fight her own fiancée and there was no one else to fight. 

Scott didn't last long against the assassin. Even with his tricks, he couldn't fight her. So in the end, the two Russians did end up opposite each other, where Katya never expected them to be.

All other events around them fell away as they stood there, a small distance apart. It might as well have been miles. Katya didn't dare look up and meet her gaze, but the desire to do it eventually became stronger than her head telling her it was a stupid idea.

And a stupid idea it was. Katya wanted to throw her weapons down there and then, surrender with her hands up and her knees on the asphalt. Why did she ever risk this, why did she ever let something as stupid as the Accords get between them? Maybe she needed to fight, so Natasha could knock some sense into her. 

She got more nauseous and felt the need to throw up.

Both of them waited for the other to speak, to yell, to apologize. In the end, Katya was the first one to speak. ''Nat, I'm so sorry. I never wanted any of this. I don't know why I followed Steve out of that office and let all this come between us.''

''I do,'' Natasha stated quietly. ''Freedom.'' She got a blank look in return, so she sighed and relaxed her stance. ''Kat, it's the one thing you've been looking for your whole life.''

Katya shook her head sadly, stepping closer. ''I know, but it didn't give me the right to abandon everything. Tony is my friend, Rhodey is my friend. And you... I don't know where this leaves us.''

It broke Natasha's heart to see Katya so guilty, sad and insecure. It pushed her to close the gap between them and grab Katya's hand. Their position was the complete opposite of what was happening around them. ''I do, because we are still getting married and everything will work out fine. If you just come with me.''

Her resolve was crumbling down, but Katya just couldn't give in. ''I can't do that, Nat. We need to get to Siberia and take care of those Winter Soldiers. One of them is dangerous enough, but a whole team of them. Please...''

Natasha's heart shattered. ''I believe you, I do, but I signed, which means I have to stop you from running around freely.'' She refused to let her eyes water and swallowed the lump in her throat.

Katya pulled her hand out of Natasha's grasp and shook her head, taking slow steps backwards. No, she was not going to fight her, but she did give her something to think about. 

''Since when does anyone tell the Black Widow what to do?''


	74. Make Sure You Visit

Katya left Natasha standing there with her doubts and thoughts, feeling her eyes on her back. The redhead had short circuits in her head and could only stare. 

Katya ran towards Wanda, who had just thrown a whole bunch of cars from the garage on Tony. It was cruel, but the Iron Man suit protected him.

No one was here to kill or wound one another.

Steve was still fighting the Black Panther and Rhodey, not a fight Katya wanted to mingle in. Not much she could do there. 

So she joined Clint and Wanda as they sprinted towards the Quinjet in Hangar five, shooting Wanda a concerned glance. ''There's our ride,'' Clint pointed to it. It was the jet, unmistakably the one they needed. Out, they needed to get out. 

The rest of the team joined their little group as they ran their legs from under their bodies. Sam, Steve, Bucky and Scott, their footsteps merging into one. But it was a long way to go and with two flyers on the opposite side, they'd never make it.

As if on cue, a laser beam almost cut Katya's foot off as it burned a line into the ground, marking a line which the team could not cross. They screeched to a stop, glaring at the instigator. Vision floated in the air, his cape waving slowly. To be completely honest, she had forgotten about him.

''Captain Rogers,'' he started. The whole group had come to a still, waiting impatiently for whatever he had to say. Again, they wouldn't be able to get out without a fight, because the others joined Vision on the other side of the line. Tony, Rhodey, Spider-Man, T'Challa, and last but not least, Natasha, who did her best to avoid Katya. 

It was more than a simple mark on the concrete. It was a border, a line they had to cross. It held so much more meaning.

''Ugh, great,'' the brunette muttered as she shifted her weight from one leg to the other. More and more nauseous she got.

''I know you believe what you're doing is right,'' Vision tried to reason. ''But for the collective good you must surrender now.''

What followed was a silent stand-off. Literally silent because nobody spoke or moved. Katya's jaw clenched and her fists trembled. She wanted to turn around and run off, let the others deal with this mess. But then neither side would ever speak to her again and she would be hunted anyway. The best way was through. To fight and hope nobody got seriously injured.

''What do we do, Cap?'' Sam asked.

He took a deep breath and gritted his teeth. ''We fight.''

He started running forward, to the other group. The rest of the team followed him hesitantly, but when Tony's team started running too, there was no way out. 

Katya forced herself to put one foot in front of the other. The gun on her hip was useless, there was no way she was going to shoot at her team mates again. The knives were also useless, too dangerous. She hadn't prepared to fight non-lethal, since they were supposed to fight Winter Soldiers, not their own friends. So in the end, the only thing she could use was her own hands and feet.

Unconsciously, while they were running, everyone picked someone similar to their own to fight. Tony dove down for Steve, T'Challa for Barnes. The noise was insane when everyone clashed. Tony's suit made a lot of noise in general, but also T'Challa's Vibranium claws in the pavement or Clint's exploding arrows.

For some reason, Katya found herself opposite the boy in red. She had to fight a kid today? 

''Listen, Miss Petrova, I just wanted to say I'm a big fan,'' he started, standing a good couple feet away from her. She had no idea how to start here. Did she just attack him?

She narrowed her eyes at him, her whole body rigid as her friends fought each other around them. ''How old are you anyway? Did Stark kidnap you or something?''

She swore he gasped. ''I'm fifteen!''

Her mouth dropped open and she shook her head. ''Jeez, you're telling me I have to fight a kid?''

''Can a kid do this?'' He shot a web from his wrist at her feet, but Katya had enough time to prepare. Elegantly, she jumped over it and raised her eyebrows in challenge. 

''Try again, Spider-Boy.''

He looked shocked, which was hard to tell through his mask, and retaliated by shooting more and more at her, but Katya avoided every single one, her movements becoming a dance.

Until he got impatient and shot two webs at the same time, attaching themselves to her hands. With a jolt, she was pulled towards him, but again, she was prepared. Since he was so small, it was easy to flip over his head so she was behind him. Now Katya tugged on the webs and Spidey flew backwards, meeting her outstretched foot. 

He didn't fly as far as she had hoped, but at least she got free. The sticky webs were still stuck to her hands however, so she clawed at them to get them free. In this distraction, Spider-Man got up and shot at her legs, pulling on his web and making her fall on her back hard. Not fair when he had something to use long-distance, while she only had her hands and legs.

Before she knew it, he towered over her and webbed her hands to her chest, as if she had a straitjacket on. Did she just lose a fight against a fifteen-year-old boy? Her head was clearly not in the game. 

Right in the middle of another speech where he rambled about something she paid no attention to, he suddenly flew backwards. Not because he had done so himself, but because red magic surrounded him and threw him a good distance away. Katya waited for Wanda to jog over to her while she sat up.

''You're being sloppy,'' the young woman joked as she reached the brunette and dissolved the webs with her powers. 

''Really? You're reprimanding me now?'' Katya scoffed as she accepted the hand Wanda offered her. ''I'm the teacher, remember?''

''Doesn't look like it,'' Wanda smiled before turning around and running off. 

Katya groaned at the chaos around her. A pile of cars next to the garage, machines broken and the terminal missing several glass plates. Spider-Man had moved on to Steve, who also had trouble with the unfamiliar webs. 

At least she wasn't the only one. 

Sam was struggling with Tony, T'Challa was battling Barnes and Clint was fighting Natasha. Katya made sure to stay away from that fight.

Eventually, she ended up opposite Vision. It wasn't a fair fight, since he could fly, make himself transparent and was technically an AI. He would know her moves before she could make them. To make it more fair for her, he landed on the ground. Like predicted, she couldn't get any hits in. Vision would deflect her punches and kicks, but never once attacked himself. 

It frustrated her that she felt so weak, so when something big collapsed behind her, she took advantage of the distraction and sent an electronic current through his being. It wasn't clear why he was affected, but it gave Katya enough time to leave him behind.

''We gotta go. That guy's probably in Siberia by now,'' she heard over the comms. It was Barnes' voice and she spotted him together with Steve, behind a big truck. Quickly, she jogged over and joined the duo that nodded in greeting.

''We gotta draw out the flyers. I'll take Vision. You get to the jet,'' Steve ordered. It was stupid to leave Steve behind, but at least one person had to make it out of here.

''No, you get to the jet! Both of you!'' Sam yelled, not knowing Katya was with the two soldiers too. Noise of wind accompanied his voice, he was flying. ''The rest of us aren't getting out of here.''

Clint sighed, the sound of an arrow following it. ''As much as I hate to admit it, if we're gonna win this one, some of us might have to lose it.''

''This isn't the real fight, Steve.'' Sam agreed. 

Steve hung his head and glanced at Katya for her opinion. She nodded faintly, confirming it was okay for him and Barnes to leave. They could handle it on their own and it was important someone get out of there quickly. Like Barnes said, Zemo was probably long in Siberia by now.

But to her surprise, Steve said, ''Okay, but you're coming with us.'' When Katya stared at him confused, he added, ''We need your skillset.''

Katya hesitated, but nodded. She was already a criminal now, so she might as well leave and try to do some good before they'd find her. Barnes kept staring at her for too long, which was really uncomfortable. As if she could piece his life back together for him.

''Alright, Sam, what's the play?'' Steve asked, ready to follow this new plan.

''We need a diversion, something big.'' His voice was almost overruled by gunshots. 

''I got something kind of big, but I can't hold it very long. On my signal, run like hell. And if I tear myself in half...don't come back for me.''

Katya furrowed her eyebrows. She thought Scott could only get smaller and not bigger.

''You're sure about this, Scott?'' Steve asked concerned. 

''I do it all the time. I mean once...in a lab. Then I passed out. I'm the boss. I'm the boss. I'm the boss. I'm the boss. I'm the boss!'' He groaned and it got silent for a second, until a big shadow fell over the runway and Katya turned around in shock.

A huge Scott stood there, as tall as the terminal and then some. He had grabbed Rhodey mid-air as if he was a Barbie doll. He tried flying away, but his thrusters did nothing against the big man's strong grip.

''Holy fuck,'' Katya breathed out, a dumb smile on her lips. Of all the crazy things she had seen in her life, this must be one of the coolest. 

''I guess that's the signal,'' Steve joked, staring up at Scott in disbelief. Seventy years ago, he was the weirdest thing science had ever created. Now there were things like this. 

Steve and Bucky started running towards the jet, so Katya turned and followed, ignoring the explosions, the heat from the fire and the breaking sounds behind her. It felt wrong to let her team mates fend for themselves while she made a run for it, but everyone approved of the plan and they could hold out for a while.

Entire airplanes were thrown now, everything to take down Scott, who was almost indestructible. 

Katya came closer and closer to the hangar. The jet was clearly visible now, just a couple more seconds and they were in. The supersoldiers in front of her could run a lot faster, but she didn't yell at them to slow down. If anything, she hoped they'd get to the jet sooner so it would be started by the time she got in.

Her footsteps got muffled by all the noise around. They had caused millions of dollars of damage already. The entire airport had to be fixed and a new airplane and machinery had to be purchased. Who was going to pay for that, she didn't know. Tony? The UN?

Katya's attention was pulled away from the jet to the control tower to the right of the hanger. A laser beam cut through it horizontally, around halfway up. It tipped over to the left, falling to block the entrance of the hanger. 

Katya's eyes widened and her steps faltered, holding back, unsure what to do if they couldn't get to the plane. 

Bucky and Steve held back too, staring at the large structure that fell down. It was almost reaching the ground, about to block the way to the jet for good, until a red cloud caught it and left a tunnel high enough for a person to run under. Run because the weight of the tower was too much for Wanda to handle. 

Katya sped up as much as she could, far behind the two super soldiers in front of her. Time slowed as she was right under the tower, the red magic protecting her from getting crushed to death. She held her breath the entire time, only looking forward and not up.

But before she was safe, the magic suddenly disappeared and Wanda's scream reached her ears over the creaking of the structure. It inched down, as if in slow motion, tons of stone and metal collapsing on her small body. 

There was only one option: leap forwards.

Katya jumped forward and dove for the safety of the hangar.

But it was too late. 

The force of the blow knocked her forwards, onto her chest on the ground. She screamed when a terrible pain traveled through her leg, followed by a sickening snap. She was lucky the rubble bounced off again and didn't stay there. The circulation to her foot would have been cut off unless someone would move it, and she wasn't sure if anyone was coming to help her anymore. 

Steve and Bucky rushed to help her, but Katya pushed herself up into a seating position and waved them away. She could handle a broken leg, it wasn't the most painful injury she had ever had. 

Something behind the two men caught her eye. A flash of color. She looked past them and thought for a moment she was hallucinating from the pain, but it was really Natasha who stood between them and the jet, a pained expression on her face. Both from the scream her fiancée had let out and the fight.

''You're not gonna stop,'' she said. It wasn't a question, it was a statement. 

Katya blinked away her pain-driven tears and stared at the scene in front of her. She wouldn't be going with the men now, since she was disabled, but if her leg wasn't broken, would she still have gone now that Natasha was here?

''You know I can't.'' She couldn't see Steve's face, since he stood with his back to her, but he sounded so hurt. 

Natasha sighed and raised her arm, seemingly aiming her weapon at Steve. ''I'm gonna regret this.''

But Katya had sensed someone behind her. The Black Panther had climbed over the ruins of the tower, into the hangar, and tried to jump Steve from behind. Never in a million years had he expected Natasha to turn her weapon to him and shoot, sending electricity through his body. Vibranium was a good conductor.

Steve snapped around, saw what she was doing, then turned back surprised. 

''Go,'' Natasha muttered, letting them leave.

Steve nodded to her and sprinted off, starting the Quinjet while she kept T'Challa busy. To make space for the jet to fly out, Steve shot the rubble at the entrance to pieces. Some of it landed on Katya, so she made herself as small as possible in the hope to avoid another iron beam on her head. 

Maybe she imagined it, but Steve nodded at her from the cockpit as he flew away. T'Challa escaped Natasha's attack long enough to jump up and hook his claws into the tires of the jet, but they were pulled in and he had to let go. He dropped back onto the concrete as the jet flew out, carrying the two soldiers to Siberia, where they could hopefully protect the world from great danger.

Katya wasn't sad she wasn't on that jet. She wasn't convinced her ''skills'' as Steve had called them, were of any use against them anyway. And to be honest, she really didn't want to go back into HYDRA territory.

Before she knew it, Natasha sat by her side, swatting her hands away gently and helping stabilize her leg. The bone got snapped right in half and had pierced the skin. It was disgusting to look at, but neither of them cared about blood or wounds like these. 

The redheads hands were gentle but firm, working mindlessly to stop the bleeding. She ignored Katya's eyes on her face and the tears rolling down her cheeks. Neither of them was sure if that came from the pain or the fact they had found their way to each other again.

''What changed your mind?'' Katya finally whispered, watching Natasha's face as she worked because it calmed her down and helped the nausea in her stomach settle. All the hostility from the past days were gone, this was just the two of them on the same page again.

Natasha didn't look up from her hands. ''Having to fight my own friends,'' she admitted. She stopped, sighed and finally looked up. Those green eyes held so much sadness. ''I'm sorry, I should have listened to you.''

Katya shook her head, smiling softly as she touched one of the hands on her leg. ''That's okay. I'm glad you came to your senses.'' She tried to soften the guilt and shame her fiancée felt. No matter what happened next, they were finally good again. Knowing that, she could handle a lot.

Natasha tried to mirror the smile, but it was more of a grimace. ''Looks like that wedding won't happen for a while.''

''Not as long as everyone keeps acting like children.'' Katya looked over Natasha's shoulder, to a very pissed off T'Challa who wanted an explanation. Natasha felt her look and stood, turning around to face the king. 

Katya watched from the ground as the Russian and Wakandan had a stand-off, Natasha blocking his view on Katya. Without seeing his face, it was obvious he was not happy. The way he stood was so offensive, but Natasha had dealt with more dangerous people.

''I said I'd help you find him, not catch him,'' she explained. Not saying sorry because what really was there to say sorry for? ''There's a difference.''

''You just made a very big mistake,'' he grumbled. Anxiously, the brunette waited to see what he would do, but he simply ran off and jumped back over the rubble of the tower. 

Katya chuckled at Natasha's unaffected face as she crouched in front of her broken body again. ''You know you're not rid of him yet, right?''

The redhead smirked, studying the leg. ''I don't care. Can you stand?''

''And go where?'' Katya questioned, making no moves to stand up. ''I have to take responsibility for my actions, Nat. That Agent I killed back at the UN, the billions of dollars of material we broke here. I chose to leave that office and this is me accepting the consequences.'' She hung her head at the pain and defeat in the other woman's eyes.

''You know they will lock you up for the rest of your life?'' Natasha asked softly, afraid she would lose her after just having her back. Safe in her hands. 

Katya chuckled humorlessly. ''Make sure you visit.''


	75. Good Cop, Bad Cop

A lot of screws and a couple metal plates was what it took the doctors to force the bone into the right position so it could heal again. The skin was stitched closed neatly and it didn't require a cast, to Katya's relief. 

She didn't have to go under general anestesia, since numbing her leg alone would be sufficient. This was also a huge relief, because as a spy, she wanted to stay alert and conscious all the time. It was weird to have doctors dig into your leg while not feeling anything. She didn't watch, she didn't feel the need to.

Her left hand was cuffed to the railing of her bed, and there were two guards positioned by the door at all times. Natasha wasn't allowed inside. Not even after she threatened them. How she was here and not in prison was a surprise. Maybe T'Challa hadn't told Ross what had happened inside the hangar, but that was unlikely.

Katya had no outside information, no idea what had happened to Steve or Bucky or the rest of her team. Although she could guess where they ended up: jail. 

Occasionally, Tony glanced inside her room as he passed it, but never once went in. It was hard to read him, to know if the glares he gave her were because he was angry about the side she picked, or because she helped Barnes escape. 

But overall, he looked tired and distraught and the fact that he was in the hospital for so long told her there was someone else here. Someone from their team. But who?

Katya grew restless as the hours passed after her operation. She knew they'd come for her, the cuffs around her wrist said so. Of course she could slip out of them, and she was sure even on one leg, she could take out the guards, but then there was a whole hospital to run through, and with Tony in the hallway, she'd never make it.

But she was also tired of fighting, of explaining herself to everyone and making excuses for her behavior. Letting Steve and Bucky go was the right decision. Hopefully they made it to Siberia and took care of the problem.

Exactly two and a half hours after surgery, a squad of heavily armed men waltzed into the room. Katya had no idea why they thought she would be able to fight all of them in her condition -there must have been at least six- but nevertheless, here they were.

They uncuffed her and pulled her out of the bed roughly. She hissed in pain as the blood flowed to her leg at once and did her best to keep all her weight on the other one. She was forced out of the room, three men on either side of her, like a criminal. She guessed that's what she was now.

Tony was the first one she passed. He looked her straight in the eye, but it made him uncomfortable. He wasn't glad or happy, in fact he was broken and sad to see one of his closest friends get dragged away. He knew where she would end up, unlike the rest of the world. To them, half of the Avengers just went missing, never to be seen again.

Instead of snarling at him, she just smiled. It wasn't all his fault, what had happened. And she wasn't so blind she didn't see where he was coming from, that he believed the Accords were good.

The next person she passed was Natasha, who looked about ready to take out the whole squad and drag Katya through the hallways herself, but the brunette subtly shook her head, telling her not to do something stupid. 

Who knew when they were going to see each other again? Maybe Natasha wouldn't be allowed to visit her in prison. They weren't married yet, so she couldn't play the family card. 

But when their eyes met, Natasha said, ''I'll see you soon.''

Katya furrowed her eyebrows and wanted to turn around and ask what she meant, but the men had already dragged her around a corner. The last thing she saw was her red hair. 

Instead of going down, like she had expected, the elevator went up. It was tiring to constantly balance on one leg, more so when the floor under her moved, but Katya didn't show anything, didn't complain. She simply stared at the metal doors, at the faint reflection of herself. 

The wind was cold on her skin when they stepped onto the helicopter platform on top of the hospital. Normally, emergency helicopters landed here, but now there was a white chopper with a huge UN logo on the side. 

The writing on the signs in the hospital had been German, so Katya knew she was in the same country, but when she saw the skyline, she also figured they were still in Leipzig. In the distance, smoke rose from the airport. 

Luckily, the noise from the chopper eliminated any chance of people talking to her. Not that they were allowed to. 

It gave her time to think, to go over the previous events. There was so much she had missed after Steve escaped. She had been unable to move because of her leg and the hangar had been shut-off from the rest of the airport. 

Of course she had heard the sirens. Police, ambulance. But by the time they had removed the fallen control tower from the entrance, the others were gone. It was only her, Natasha and Tony, who had helped with their little rescue mission.

She hadn't asked him anything about where the others were. It was clear that what had happened to them, was also happening to her now. It was assuring to know that maybe she'd see some of her friends again.

With her hands bound in front of her and her leg throbbing, Katya watched the land pass underneath her until it turned into water. The rough waves and currents turned the black ocean into a dangerous mess. She frowned, unsure where they were going, until a raft emerged from the deep.

It was huge, absolutely huge. A whole building but bigger. Wider than a few city blocks and undoubtedly higher than the skyscrapers in New York.

Heavy, serious looking doors opened and the chopper flew in, landing neatly on the pad. The whole floor lowered until a hanger came into view. Katya swallowed and dread settled in. There was no way she was getting out of here.

This was one of those places they sent the worst of the worst, the criminals who weren't safe to be in a normal prison. Apparently that also meant her now.

A scowl formed on her face as she saw who was waiting for her below. That mustache and the white hair gave her murderous tendencies. 

The soldiers lifted her out of the chopper by her arms and guided her over to the arrogant looking man. 

''Katariina, what a surprise. I guess you finally got what you deserved.''

She couldn't resist. She was getting locked up anyway, never seeing this guy again. ''Fuck you,'' she spat. It earned her a hit in the ribs and a shove in her back to move forwards, but it was worth it.

''You're going to rot here until the end of your days!'' Ross yelled after her. Once again she had gotten under his skin, which was very satisfying. 

This place was unlike anything she had ever seen before, and she had been places. All black steel walls, reinforced and able to withstand the pressure of water, if there ever would be a leak or someone blew a hole in the wall. Heavy security doors with locks every few steps and cameras everywhere. 

But although it was impressive, Katya was sure if she spent a couple months here, even she would be able to find a way out. 

One of the local soldiers -did they live here?- swiped his card in front of the lock, entered a pin and pressed his thumb against it, only to be met with a second door, a couple feet behind it. Katya was shoved in, the first door closing behind her before the second one opened. 

It was clear this was where she would spend the rest of her days. 

The room was in the shape of a circle. Not too big. If she would lay down on the floor, maybe she could fit three to four times across? Into the wall, there were pods. Their white interior were a stark contrast against the black in the room outside them. 

Thick, probably vibranium -who knows- bars ran horizontally across the bulletproof and bomb proof glass behind. The prisoners inside were both fish and bird.

She had stopped and stared too long, because a hard push in her back made her stumble forward. In her fall, she forgot about her injured leg, so she cried out as it landed on the floor and her knee gave out from the pain. 

On her knees, with her hands bound in front of her, tears in her eyes from the pain, she sat there. If the opening of the doors hadn't alerted the prisoners of a new cellmate, her scream certainly had. Katya felt their gazes on her as she struggled to stand but found herself unable to do so.

Never before in her life had she wanted to cry so much as right there and then. No, that's not true, but it was definitely in her top three. 

All the hope she had had, the tiny spark somewhere deep inside her stomach, extinguished with a hiss. She saw no way out, no other path her life could take than being locked up in here until she died of old age. Not even Natasha's words from before could rekindle that fire.

Someone hoisted her up by her armpits and threw her in the most right cell, next to the door. A blue jumpsuit was waiting for her on the cot, the only furniture besides the toilet. Under the watchful eye of a female Agent, she had to strip until there were no fabrics on her body where she would be able to hide weapons in, and get dressed in the awful cotton thing.

It smelled old and stale and like it had been sitting inside the closet for fifty years.

The glass door slid closed and the bars followed. The clicking sound they made, made it more final. 

Only after she stared the soldiers down until they had left the room, did she look into the other cells. That was the benefit of being placed in a circle, you could see in almost every cell.

Clint was in the one directly to her left, on the other side of the main door. The angle made it impossible to see far into his cell, but he stood as close to his door as he dared to see his wounded friend. His eyebrows were pulled together in sadness, anger and frustration. To her surprise, she could hear him when he spoke.

''I was wondering when they'd drag you in here,'' he smiled sarcastically, meaning his words as a joke, but nobody believed it was really funny, not even himself.

Katya scoffed and ran her skinny fingers through her hair. She sat on the edge of her cot, taking the pressure of her leg. ''Sorry, needed to have some reconstruction done.''

It hurt like a bitch and she was pretty sure the doctors had prescribed her medicine, but maybe it was her punishment that she got nothing. 

In the cell next to Clint, the one she could see a bit better into, was Scott. About him, Katya felt the most guilty. They had dragged him into this knowing he had a young daughter and was already in trouble with the law. They used him. 

''Scott, good to see you back to normal size. Last time I saw you, you were as tall as a multi-story building.''

He stood with his back against the wall, staring at the empty white one across. ''Yeah, I'm glad I am still in one piece.''

Sam chuckled but without any real humor. ''If only you could turn into a TicTac now, you could crawl though these holes and get out.'' He traced the tiny holes in the glass doors with his finger. They were the things enabling them to speak to each other. ''Hey Katya, you good?''

He stared at her leg, so she pulled her pantleg up and studied the thick white bandage underneath. It throbbed and hurt like a bitch, but she would survive. ''I will be. I've had worse injuries than this,'' Katya shrugged, rolling the fabric back down. ''Where's Wanda?''

Sam's face fell and with a jab of his thumb, gestured to the cell next to him. However, because it was at such an awkward angle, Katya was only able to see the left wall of the cell and had no idea what was happening in the other three-quarters.

She shot a questionable look at Sam, who shook his head slowly, pure pain in his dark eyes. 

''Wanda?'' Katya called out against better judgement, knowing when she saw the young woman, she would implode. ''Wanda?'' she tried again when there was no movement inside her cell. From the corner of her eye, she saw Clint shake his head as a silent plea to leave the girl alone. So she did, knowing eventually Wanda would have to move.

''What happened after Steve and Barnes left?'' Katya questioned the three men, scooting backwards on her cot so she sat with her back against the wall.

Sam hung his head and crossed his arms. ''Rhodey... he tried to go after them, crash the plane. I followed, hoping to get him off their tail.'' 

Fear settled in Katya's chest. She could predict how this story ended, even if she hadn't been there.

''Vision tried to take out my thrusters, knowing my pack would land me safely, but he got distracted and missed, cutting through Rhodey's chest plate,'' Sam trailed off, his voice getting quieter the more he spoke. 

''Jeez,'' Katya breathed, averting her eyes to stare at the one knee she had pulled up to her chest. ''So it was Rhodey in the hospital,'' she concluded. The distressed look on Tony's face made a lot of sense now. The Colonel was one of his longest friends, one of the only people he trusted completely. ''Is he gonna be fine?''

Sam shook his head. ''I have no idea, but he was alive when emergency services came.''

Nobody said anything after that. What was there to talk about? They didn't want to talk about what had happened and the silence was both nice and torture. Katya needed to do something to take her mind off things, and normally she would pace, but that was impossible now. So instead she bit her nails and listened to the sounds around her.

The cell wasn't soundproofed, as demonstrated by the fact that she could talk to her friends, so there were a lot of sounds reaching her ears. A new environment meant getting used to new feelings, smells and noises. 

The room didn't move or shake, indicating the raft was somehow secured to the ocean floor. The powerful current would have thrown this large structure around if it wasn't. The cells weren't cold, but not too warm either and there was a faint air current, oxygen supply obtained from the surface. 

The blanket on the cot wasn't too soft but not too rough either, it wouldn't scratch her skin laying under it. The mattress was thin however, giving someone who wasn't used to bad beds a quick back ache. Luckily, Katya had slept on the thinnest mattresses this world had to offer.

The walls were a hard plastic and were cold when you first leaned against them, but warmed up to your body eventually. Not comfortable for leaning against for too long. 

Everything smelled plastic-y and if she stood too close to the glass, an iron smell would come from the bars behind. The lighting from above was harsh TL, blinding. Katya hoped they'd turn off at night.

A camera in every corner, infrared and night vision. A beep sounded every forty seconds somewhere. That was about all she could establish before a rustling from her right distracted her and pushed her to the glass door. At first she thought it was Sam, but in the cell next to him, Wanda's cell, something had moved.

Wanda had dragged herself onto her bed and sat in the same position as Katya had before. The brunette's breath hitched in her throat upon seeing her friend and her fists shook in anger.

The witch's once lively eyes were now empty and hollow. The dark circles under her eyes looked worse than they should have been after only a day here. But that wasn't the most shocking. The most shocking was the straitjacket wrapped around her torso, trapping her hands against her chest.

It prevented her from using her abilities to escape, but they really couldn't find another solution? A drug to suppress them or a room with dampeners? They would still take away her power but not in this cruel way.

Again, Katya called her name repeatedly, but Wanda was deaf to the world. 

It was useless to scream or yell. Nobody would hear her anyway. So Katya stayed silent and took deep breaths to control her anger. Her eyes were locked onto the witch, burning a hole in her skull, begging her to look her way, but nothing happened. There was nothing left in Wanda.

Katya ripped herself away from the glass and hopped over to the far wall of her small cell. There was another door. Smart, making it able to enter from both sides. She leaned her hands against it and hung her head, blocking everything out but her own breathing.

In and out. In and out.

Eventually, long after she had calmed down, she slid down onto the ground and closed her eyes, making it clear to the others she didn't want to talk. Sleep was appealing, but she refused to give in. Even in this cell, being on high alert was important, especially when missing one good leg.

Time was always hard to establish and follow without any sunlight or indication of time. Katya was planning on using meal times to figure out what part of the day they were in, but they hadn't been fed anything yet. Her instincts of always having security and information on where she was, what time it was and the layout of the building were always on.

But without a clock or watch, Katya guessed it couldn't have been more than a few hours since she had sat on the floor, when the main door to the central room opened with a hiss. She didn't stand up because it couldn't be someone too important, but she did open her eyes when careful and hesitant footsteps passed her cell.

It was Tony. The same man she had seen pacing inside the hospital with the sling around his neck and arm and the deep black bruise by his eye.

She sensed the others turning to the sound as well, but nobody said or did anything until Tony was stopped by a slow clapping. 

''The Futurist, gentlemen! The Futurist is here! He sees all!'' Clint called out, the first real smile breaking through on Katya's face in hours. ''He knows what's best for you, whether your like it or not.''

Tony stepped up to the archer's cell, stopping in front of the bars. ''Give me a break, Barton. I had no idea they'll put you here. Come on.''

Katya heard Clint spit on the ground, mumbling so soft she almost couldn't hear it. ''Yeah, well, you knew they'd put us somewhere, Tony.''

''Yeah, but not some super-max floating ocean pokey. You know, this place is for maniacs. This is a place for...''

''Criminals?'' Clint finished for him, getting up from his crouched position and getting as close to the billionaire as he could. ''Criminals, Tony. Think that's the word you're looking for. Right? That didn't used to mean me. Or Sam, or Wanda. But here we are.''

''Because you broke the law,'' Tony said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

''Yeah.''

''I didn't make you.''

Clint started to childishly sing over his voice, not wanting to hear what Tony had to say. ''La, la, la..''

''You read it, you broke it.''

Clint kept singing, to Katya's amusement. It was hard for her to hate Tony, she would never be able to do that, but he had to learn when to shut his mouth and when not to play the smartass.

''Alright, you're all grown up, you got a wife and kids. I don't understand, why didn't you think about them before you chose the wrong side?''

A loud bang startled Katya. Either Clint or Tony had slammed the metal frame by the door. ''You gotta watch your back with this guy. There's a chance he's gonna break it,'' Clint yelled after Tony as he wandered to the next cell. Scott's cell.

Scott was already by the glass, his nose almost touching it. ''Hank Pym always said, you never can trust a Stark.'' He glared at the billionaire, who didn't even stop.

''Who are you?'' Tony asked dryly.

''Come on, man,'' Scott scoffed. It was a bit childish from Tony and kinda hurtful, but childish was the theme of this entire fight anyway.

Sam was the most approachable out of the men, his voice the most calm as he stood with his back to Tony. ''How's Rhodes?''

Since Sam's room was straight across from Katya's, she could see everything happening there, including Tony stepping into her field of vision.

''They're flying him to Columbia Medical tomorrow. So, fingers crossed.'' Tony mumbled, his voice dropping off at the end. He wasn't his usual confident self, at least not as strong. His shoulders hung down and there was so much pain and guilt behind his eyes. 

Sam glanced over his shoulder, shaking his head. He was unable to look at him.

''What do you need? They feed you yet?''

Tony's shift in tone caused Sam to turn around, raising an unimpressed eyebrow. ''You're the good cop now?''

''I'm just the guy who needs to know where Steve went.''

Sam thought he was still planning on arresting him, but Katya knew Tony had found something else. Something that had shown him the truth about Zemo.

Slowly and with great effort, she pulled herself up from the ground and hopped back to the front of her cell.

''Well, you better go get a bad cop, because you're gonna have to go Mark Fuhrman on my ass to get information out of me,'' Sam scoffed, smirking challengingly.

Tony fiddled with something around his wrist, his watch probably. ''Well, I just knocked the 'A' out of their 'AV'. We got about thirty seconds before they realize it's not their equipment.''

Katya furrowed her eyebrows at the drastic measure, mirroring Sam who glanced up at the cameras. Ross probably didn't want to believe or support Tony, that's why he had to do it himself. 

''Just look. Because that is the fellow who was supposed to interrogate Barnes.'' Sam looked at the picture Tony showed him. Katya wished she could see it too, but he only had eyes for Sam. ''Clearly, I made a mistake. Sam, I was wrong.''

Katya was beyond surprised. In half a day, Tony had somehow let go of his selfishness and believed Steve about the Winter Soldiers. 

''Did Tony Stark just admit he was wrong?'' She smirked as he turned around and playfully glared at her. ''Someone call the papers.''

''Shut it Petrova or I'll tell Ross to give you no food for a week,'' he warned, pointing a playful finger at her.

She shrugged, ignoring how his gaze fell onto her shin. ''That's alright, I can do a week without.''

Tony's eyes widened in shock and fear. She never did fail to amaze him. ''Cap is definitely off the reservation but he's about to need all the help he can get.'' He eyed Sam hopefully. ''We don't know each other very well. You don't have to...''

''Hey, it's alright.'' Sam sighed and looked torn. Did he trust Tony enough to spill Steve's location?

He looked at Katya for help and she faintly nodded, telling him to go ahead. She trusted Tony to help Steve defeat Zemo and the Winter Soldiers and hopefully, along the way, would also let Barnes go. 

Sam turned back to Tony, who leaned in closer to the glass. ''Look, I'll tell you... but you have to go alone and as a friend.''

''Easy.''

Sam told him the location in Siberia and Tony just nodded, turned away from the soldier and towards the exit. He nodded to Katya when he passed her and she didn't doubt she would see him again. 

''Good luck, Stark,'' she said, to which he smiled faintly. The door closed behind him with a hiss and it turned quiet again.

''Do we trust him now?'' Clint asked after a while, processing the turn of events the visit had taken.

''Yeah,'' Katya sighed, falling down on her cot. ''Yeah, we do.''


	76. A Pyrrhic Victory

The next days were spent sleeping, resting her leg and trying to silence her head. It was excruciating, not knowing what was going on outside with Steve and Tony, but it was no use spending all her time worrying about. Katya couldn't do anything about it anyway.

She figured out pretty quickly that mealtimes were at random time intervals to throw her off. It worked because at one point, she had no idea how long she had been inside. All days blurred into one, the minutes no longer differenciating from the other. She guessed a couple days, basing it off three meals a day, but it was unclear.

A guard made continues rounds in the circular room outside their cells. Always one, armed to the teeth. They switched shifts at random times too.

Katya ignored them and didn't talk to anyone. If she or the others tried to talk, the guard would slam his baton against the bars loudly and yell at them to shut up. Sometimes her hands itched to wrap them around his throat, but it was useless to waste that energy.

Wanda hadn't said anything all together. Every now and then, she moved and sat somewhere else, or she waited for someone to feed her. Literally. Since she couldn't move her arms, someone had to stuff the food in her mouth and make her drink.

It was absolutely horrible to see. The woman was treated like an animal.

Katya's leg hurt, but the medicine helped a lot. Every day, a doctor came in under heavy security and swapped the bandage for her. Again, at random times. She had allowed it at first, until Katya had refused to let her touch her and wanted to do it herself. With all her experience of wrapping and stitching herself up, Katya was almost a doctor herself.

The blonde doctor had hesitantly agreed and given Katya the tools, staying until it was all done. She wasn't afraid of the ex-Avenger, proving she had worked with worse criminals here.

On the third day -if that's what it was- after the meal that she believed to be dinner, Katya lay on her cot to get some sleep. She slept short amounts and coordinated with Clint or Sam on who would sleep, so at least one person was alert and awake at all times.

Katya turned on her side, facing the wall. She hadn't showered at all, her brown hair oily and tangled as hell. It was disgusting and she smelled herself. No change of clothes either, and she wondered when they'd drag them out of their cells to shower. Maybe once a week?

A deep rumble sounded from somewhere deep in the raft, but she paid no attention to it. It was probably a shipment of food or other supplies or something had fallen over. 

But then there was a second bang, about the same volume, too much like the last one to be random. 

She pushed herself up on her elbows curiously, ears wide open. 

More noise. People running in the hallway and the guard outside her cell reaching up to tap his earpiece, listening to what was being said, then rushing out the room. 

The brunette hoisted herself up and off of the bed, seeing the men in the other cells wandering to their glass doors too. She had the quickest eye contact with Clint, but it was enough to confirm he thought the same. People were breaking into the raft, which could mean two things.

They were either criminals looking for a way to kill the ex-Avengers -maybe even the Winter Soldiers, who knew-, or they were their team mates. In which case Katya expected Steve and not Tony. 

And only when that smallest fire of hope flared up in her stomach, did she realize it never fully extinguished. She had always trusted Steve, and maybe even Natasha, to get her out. Never had she believed she would spend the rest of her days in there.

And, the most important thing of all, she didn't want to be there. She'd rather be on the run forever, always looking over her shoulder, than withering away in a prison cell. Safe, but bored out of her mind and always without the person she loved most. The one who made it all worth it.

More bangs, screaming and shooting. 

Katya wanted to break through the door and see what was going on so badly. Wanted to help. She might not be able to fight, but with a broken leg, she could still shoot.

Footsteps in the hall outside of the room. People running and fighting. Bodies being thrown against walls.

Clint, Sam and Scott stood with their noses against the glass. Even Wanda looked up now, although her eyes were still empty.

Then... nothing. Silence.

Katya frowned, afraid that their rescue team had lost and gotten captured, but then the faintest beep could be heard, followed by a hiss. And then again, a beep and a hiss.

The door must have opened, but Katya was unable to see it because of her cell's location. Sam's jaw dropped and pulled into a smile directly afterwards, nodding proudly with that signature smirk on his face. 

The tension was almost unbearable as Katya waited for the person, or persons, in the doorway to reveal themselves. And when they did, she laughed in disbelief.

Steve walked in front, smiling smugly at Sam. He wasn't in his normal suit or anything Katya had ever seen him wear before. It was a sporty jacket, dark blue of course. Made from a good material to fight.

But her eyes were on the person behind him, the one she knew would always be there at the end. 

''Nat,'' she whispered in disbelief that the Russian was actually right in front of her after days of believing she'd never see her again.

Natasha rushed to the control panel next to her cell, typed something, swiped a card and stood back with a happy smile. The bars slid to the side and the glass panel down until there was nothing separating them anymore.

In an ideal scenario, Katya would have jumped out of her cell and ran into the redheads arms, but she was only able to hobble so Natasha reached for her instead.

Katya wrapped her arms around her fiancée tightly for the first time in weeks, not planning to let go for a while. ''I missed you so much,'' she whispered into the red locks.

''Can't do three days without me?'' Natasha teased, resting her chin on the brunette's shoulders, not giving a shit about how dirty she was. She had expected for Katya to joke back and give her a glare, but she only held onto her tighter.

''You're everything to me.'' 

Katya had never said that this directly, but three days of having no company except her own mind had made her see that more clearly than ever. 

Natasha was the center of her life. 

It probably wasn't healthy to depend your life on one person this heavily, but mentally stable wasn't a way of describing Katya anyway. Without Natasha, there was simply less. Less color, less light, less air. She needed her to live instead of survive.

In shock, Natasha pulled back and looked directly into those blue eyes. No words were shared but both understood what the other meant to say. 

Clint interrupted their moment. If he would have had something to throw at them, he would have. ''Hey lovebirds, are you coming or do you plan on staying here? Because I'd very much like to get out.''

Katya glared at him over Natasha's shoulder, but he was right. They had to get out and fast. Natasha wrapped an arm around Katya's waist and put one of the brunette's arms around her neck, supporting her as much as she could. ''I got you. Let's go.''

''Wanda...'' Katya realized, turning her head to the already open cell of the witch.

''Don't worry, I have her,'' Scott said. He supported her in the same way Natasha did Katya, having removed the straitjacket, but Wanda was too weak to walk on her own.

Steve and Clint walked in front, taking out anyone coming the way of the small group stumbling through the raft. Sam walked in the back, watching everyone's six.

It took a while until they reached the helicopter platform. An Avengers Quinjet waited for them there. ''How the hell did you get in?'' Katya asked Natasha, having to shout over the sound of waves crashing outside and the howling wind.

''As far as Ross knew, I was still with him,'' the redhead answered, guiding Katya up the stairs and in the direction of the jet.

Katya hobbled up the ramp, continuously swiping her hair out of her eyes. She was absolutely exhausted from this small journey from her cell to the jet. ''Are you sure you don't want to go back to the compound? We will be running for the rest of our lives.''

There was another figure in the jet, one that had been holding the fort while Steve and Natasha went out. With his metal arm, he was impossible to miss.

Natasha lowered Katya into a seat along the wall, the brunette collapsing against the soft leather. ''I already made my choice when I came here. You're not slipping through my fingers again.'' And she was off to the pilot seat, starting the jet while the rest of the team sat down too.

Katya eyed Wanda anxiously. She had that blank look but did look a bit more lively. She was looking around slightly hazy but her eyes followed people's movements slowly. 

Barnes shifted in his seat uncomfortably with all these new people around him. He stared at Katya the most and it was no longer possible to ignore him. 

She sighed and gratefully accepted the water bottle Steve gave her before she turned to the blue eyed soldier across from her. ''So, the fact that you're here must mean something good. T'Challa didn't kill you?'' She guessed the king wouldn't give up easily on the man he believed to be his father's killer.

Bucky faintly shook his head. He was uneasy, making his body as small as possible. ''No, he figured he was after the wrong guy.''

''So you got him? The interrogator?'' She questioned.

Steve nodded as he sat next to his lifelong friend. ''Locked away forever.''

Relief traveled through her body, her eyes flickering between the two friends. ''And the Winter Soldiers?'' They were the reason they were in this mess in the first place. Stopping them was Steve and Bucky's number one goal when leaving for Siberia.

Steve mustered up the courage to speak. ''They were already dead when we came there.''

''What?'' Katya furrowed her eyebrows, ignoring the rest of the team that was listening in. ''But then why did he lure you all the way to Siberia?''

It made zero sense, first desperately trying to get to Siberia to release the Winter Soldiers, only to kill them first thing when you got there. 

Bucky glanced at Steve before hanging his shoulders more, as if the weight of the world was on it. ''December 16, 1991,'' the long-haired soldier mumbled eventually.

Katya's heart stopped and her eyes turned big as she stared at Barnes, trying to figure out if he was serious. ''No...'' That date would forever be burned into her brain.

Steve frowned, almost angry. ''Wait, you knew?''

''I didn't know, but I had always suspected,'' Katya quickly defended herself. She looked back at Bucky. ''It was you?'' He nodded confirmatory and Katya leaned back in her seat with a deep exhale. ''Jeez. Let me guess, Tony didn't react well?''

Steve shook his head, painful memories from that moment playing behind his eyes. The bruises and cuts on his and Bucky's faces said enough about what had happened. They had fought Tony and won, but it was an empty victory.

Katya shook her head and pushed herself up from the seat. She wasn't able to deal with this today. Tony had probably guessed by now that Katya had known his parents were murdered instead of killed in an accident. He knew HYDRA was responsible and therefore believed Katya had known of it as well. 

But she hadn't been with HYDRA in 1991 and had never known for sure until that picture on the monitor in the bunker after the fall of SHIELD, when they had spoken to Zola's digital mind. However, that had never shown the Winter Soldier as the murderer. 

Katya plopped down into the co-pilot seat, turning her back to the others and watching the dark clouds pass below. The moon shone down on the jet and her face. Above the cloud cover, the stars always shone.

Natasha eyed her as she sat down, concentrating on the controls. ''You know, you should keep your weight off that.''

''I'm trying, but I need a walking stick.'' Katya sighed and slouched in the chair, propping her leg up on the controls and leaning her head against the backrest. ''Like I'm an old grandma. Or a pair of crutches would do too.''

Natasha scoffed and smiled. ''You hate crutches.''

''You're right, but I have to walk around somehow.'' Katya let her head fall to the side so she could smirk at her fiancée. ''Maybe I'll just use you as my personal rollator.''

''I'll find you some crutches,'' Natasha quickly said, feigning fear of being Katya's personal assistant. After Katya's chuckling died down and both their faces fell, Natasha spoke into the silence. ''I'm sorry.''

Katya turned her whole body in Natasha's direction, suddenly very serious. ''No. Don't apologize. You thought what you did was right. You don't need to apologize for that.'' Her voice was soft, no energy left to talk louder.

But Natasha furiously shook her head and pushed a button, putting the jet into autopilot so she could give the conversation her full attention. ''I should have seen past my own fears and seen what the Accords meant for people like Wanda. I shouldn't have let my fears influence my decision. You were right.'' She looked at her hands. ''But I can't get rid of this guilty feeling, the negative self-image. I'll never be good enough for myself, Kat.''

She was frustrated with herself, angry that her own mind was messing so much with her life and she couldn't seem to change it.

Katya reached over and grabbed her attention by placing a hand on her knee. Natasha glanced up, green eyes changing from angry to sad. ''I know that, but you're more than good enough for me and for Steve and for Clint and for everyone else who actually knows you. And I'll try to convince you of that until I'm six feet under.''

Natasha smiled faintly but it didn't reach her eyes. ''You'll have a lot of time to try, cause there's not much to do while hiding all day,'' she joked softly. 

''Tell me about it. I did that for two years, remember?'' Katya smiled back, relaxing in her chair. The conversation was over for now but she hadn't managed to make any headway. She glanced at the screens and displays in the cockpit, frowning as she realized she had no idea where they were headed. ''Where are we going?''

Natasha smirked mysteriously, picking the controls back up. ''Some place you've always wanted to go.''

''Wakanda?'' Katya sat up in her seat, excited to finally get into the country. ''Why are we going there?''

Natasha pointed over her shoulder with her thumb. Katya looked behind, but it wasn't clear who she meant. ''Barnes. The words in his head. T'Challa offered to place him back in cryo until Wakandan scientists have found a way to get the words out.'' It was a big change from T'Challa wanting to rip Bucky's heart out to offering to cure him. ''But we can't stay there. We're the reason eleven of them were killed, so they kinda hate our guts. Especially Wanda's.''

Katya stared at her hands, a thought popping into her head. She knew it wouldn't be appreciated by Natasha, but maybe she'd understand. ''Maybe I should stay too,'' Katya started quietly and careful.

''What?'' Natasha's head snapped to her, features filled with shock and fear. ''Katya...''

''I almost killed you Nat.'' Katya exclaimed, frustrated. ''All he had to do was say those goddamn words and I was gone. You think I could live with myself if something like that happened again and I actually struck you this time?''

''That won't happen,'' the redhead said confidently, staring into the night sky.

Katya shook her head swiftly. ''You can't promise that, Nat.''

''Stop,'' Natasha said loudly, turning her whole body to Katya like the brunette had done before. Her face was stern and she didn't want to argue about this. Katya staying in Wakanda was not going to happen, not after she just got her back. ''You're not going into cryo. We'll find a way to get the words out, but I'm not letting you out of my sight again. And that is a promise.'' She took a deep breath, falling back into her chair.

Katya, completely stunned by her sudden outburst, blinked and gave up on any plans she had to stay with her plan. ''Alright, I won't.''

''Good.'' Natasha nodded, keeping herself busy with flying the plane. ''Oh by the way, you really stink.'' The moodswings were insane.

''Wow, thanks.'' Katya said sarcastically. ''Prison wasn't exactly a five star hotel.''

''I brought your stuff, it's in the bathroom.'' There was the faintest triumphant smile on her lips. 

Katya gasped softly and jumped out of her chair, hissing as she had forgotten about her leg again. She left the cockpit to go to the tiny bathroom the Quinjet contained. 

It wasn't much. Only a toilet with a sink that was big enough to wash her hair and body in. She wasn't allowed to shower with the bandage on her leg anyway.

Grabbing onto the walls and chairs as not to fall over, she stumbled in, locking the door behind. As promised, her toiletry bag stood by the sink. Apparently Natasha had had time to plan the prison break because everything from their bathroom at the Compound was in there. Skin products, make up, shampoo, bodywash. Katya wouldn't be surprised if her whole closet was neatly folded into a suitcase too.

When she looked in the mirror, she got to admit, the color of the prison jumpsuit wasn't bad. It was a royal blue that would look great, had it been a dress or a sweater instead. Not this formless potato sack.

She stripped all the way down, this time without any onlookers, and did her best to get clean and wash the horrible grease out of her hair and off her body. It was a bit hard to maneuver her head under the tab, but it worked and when she got dressed into some clothes that were also already there, she felt so much better. 

Nobody paid attention when she came out of the bathroom. They were either lost in their own heads or trying to keep themselves busy with tablets or books. Clint had some headphones on and tapped his fingers on his leg on the rhythm.

The Russian sat down in her previous seat. ''Wake me up before you fly into Wakanda.'' She didn't want to miss flying through the invisible barrier around the whole country. She had never seen it before, but had heard the stories. 

''Yes, darling,'' Natasha joked, watching Katya get comfortable in the chair. She always looked so much younger and vulnerable when she slept. It was impossible to keep masks or facades while unconscious, so this was the purest Katya she'd see.

The Quinjet flew through the night. No planes came after them. No Tony in his Iron Man suit either. No military fighter jets or a torpedo blasting them out of the sky. It was smooth sailing to Wakanda, the country that had been hidden for years but had opened their borders to a couple lost soldiers and spies.


	77. Long Time Coming

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Little extra chapter for you :) Enjoy!

Katya had never been so goddamn nervous before in her life. It was a shame they wouldn't get the day they had dreamed of, but maybe that was never meant for them anyway. 

This, right here, was in line with the past events of both their lives. It may not be perfect, but this was theirs.

''Stop bouncing, I need to fix your hair,'' Wanda warned, standing behind the brunette with her hands up in the brown locks. The witch had done her best to make something of it. Not too fancy but a bit neater than normal. 

Both of them were holed up in a backroom of the church. It was a beautiful church, small but maybe that concealed the fact that only five people were attending as guests. Only five people of the dozens they had wanted for this day. But when you were a wanted criminal, it was tricky calling and mailing people and invite them to fly to Russia.

Wanda had used some of her mind tricks on the keeper of the church so he'd allow them to use the building for a whole day. There were no flowers, no decorations, just whatever was already there and the rings and clothes they had managed to buy.

Katya trailed her fingers over the white fabric of her dress. It wasn't necessarily a wedding dress, but it was white and better than a cocktail dress. From the start, she had known she didn't want something too expressive or too dolled up. That wasn't her and would never be her. But she did like looking classy.

Her leg was a problem. It had been a couple weeks so the bone had been healed enough, but walking in heels wasn't a good idea yet. However, there was no way Katya wasn't going to wear anything other than heels on her wedding day. So she ignored the other's warnings and slipped them on anyway, keeping most of her weight on her good leg.

The choice for Russia had been easy. Even if both women had a difficult relationship with the country, they were born there and their lives had intertwined there. Because Russia didn't allow same-sex marriage, a pastor couldn't marry them and it wouldn't be official, but to Katya, it would feel like that. 

If they could ever go back into the States without getting killed at the border, they'd make it official. But for now, this would have to do.

There was a short knock on the door. Clint slowly opened it and peeked in, admiration on his face when his eyes landed on her. ''Are you ready? Because I have a very impatient redhead who will throw a tantrum if she can't see you soon.''

''We are very much ready,'' Wanda answered for her, nodding and stepping back to admire her handywork, smoothing out any wrinkles in the dress.

Clint looked at Katya and she nodded, the nerves flaring up. It was a good kind of nervous, excited nervous, ready to finally tie the knot.

Everything had to be organized last minute, since Clint and Scott would be leaving tomorrow to go back home. Secretary Ross had offered them plea-bargains that would put them on house arrest only instead of in a prison, allowing them to be with their families. 

Katya had understood their choices directly and didn't want to hear any of their apologies. Both of them had little kids who needed their fathers growing up. And although it was sad to see them go, especially Clint, she knew she'd see them again. Maybe sooner than they all thought.

''Ready,'' Katya said, straightening her back and mentally preparing for the next half hour. 

Countless years, every single thing she and Natasha had done, every path they had chosen, all led here, to this moment. 

Clint nodded and went back out there to calm an impatient Natasha down as Wanda stepped in front of Katya and gently took her hands. 

''Don't be nervous, it's just Nat.''

And Katya realized she was right. It was the same woman she had known all her life, so why was she so nervous? Maybe because there were others and it was a vulnerable moment. But she had believed she was past that.

''Thank you, Wanda, for helping me.''

''You're welcome,'' the witch smiled. She had never looked as happy as right now, seeing her best friend get married, ''And you look gorgeous. If she doesn't faint from it, I don't know what else I could have done.''

Katya chuckled and nodded for Wanda to open the door. They wouldn't walk down the aisle, since there was no music anyway and it was really awkward with such a small group, so they'd just meet in front of Sam, who casually mentioned he had married one of his military friends once and therefore knew the words.

After another deep breath, Katya stepped out. She almost immediately started crying as her eyes landed on Natasha, completely jumping over and ignoring her friends. Katya was convinced this was the most beautiful she had ever seen her. 

A gorgeous white, satin dress with spaghetti straps that fell all the way to the floor, adorned her body. It was really sexy, on the line of being too much and perfect. It was risky and completely her style.

She had cut her hair somewhere last week to where it was a bop, ending just above her shoulders. It was bright red still. Natasha had waited for this day before dyeing it blonde tomorrow. 

''Are you gonna come over here or are you gonna stand there and stare at me all day?'' Natasha joked, but there were tears in her sparkling eyes too and Katya swore she was blushing.

The brunette hadn't even realized she had stopped walking. A little embarrassed, she walked over and smiled, reaching for Natasha's hands. ''You look amazing,'' she breathed, her hands slowly getting warmed by the ones she was holding.

''So do you,'' Natasha whispered back, that wide smile plastered on her face. It wouldn't come off for the rest of the day. 

Katya studied the face she had woken up to for years but still triggered the butterflies in her stomach. The usually wild red hair that was now perfectly straight, wide eyes more awake than ever and those perfect eyebrows which pulled together when she was concentrating very hard. There was not one line, curve or dimple she couldn't point out with her eyes closed. 

Both their hearts beat in their chests as their friends took their places silently, careful not to disturb the couple. They felt honored to be a part of this and rooted for the women who had crossed lines and continents for each other.

Sam took his job very seriously, although he also had the widest smile on his face Katya had ever seen. His suit didn't fit perfectly, but everyone looked the best they could. Even Clint had dressed more fancy than usual. 

Sam started with the basic introduction, skipping over any parts that weren't relevant because neither Russian had the patience for it. He didn't ask them to say their vows. They had decided not to exchange any, at least not with all these people listening. It was something private and not something they were comfortable doing in front of even their closest friends. 

Katya heard Sam's words but didn't really register them, she was way too entranced by the green eyes in front of her. All she could feel and be aware of was Natasha, completely lost in her. Unbeknownst to her, Natasha felt the exact same way, everything hitting her all at once. Who would have thought twenty years ago they would stand here, about to be linked together for eternity?

But while she had doubted a lot of things in her life, herself, her job, the world, she had never doubted this connection. Sometimes it was the only thing she was sure of. 

Katya's eyes jumped to Natasha's lips when she started to speak, repeating the words Sam was telling her with shaking voice and hands.

''I, Natalia Alianovna Romanova, take thee Katariina Alena Petrova, to be my wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better for worse; for richer for poorer; in sickness and in health; to love and to cherish; till death us do part.''

She chuckled in disbelief this was all really happening and wiped a stray tear away from her cheek, momentarily letting Katya's sweaty hand go. Sam was surprised to see her cry, but it only made him smile wider. Besides, she wasn't the only one. All of them were crying, Steve, Wanda, Clint, and Scott the hardest.

Now it was Katya's turn and she prayed she wouldn't mess the words up. ''I, Katariina Alena Petrova, take thee Natalia Alianovna Romanova, to be my wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better for worse; for richer for poorer; in sickness and in health; to love and to cherish; till death us do part.'' Her voice shook but Natasha squeezed her hands in an attempt to calm her down.

Trembling voice and hands, frantic heart and hurting leg wouldn't get to mess this up. 

It was only when Clint stepped up next to them, did Katya look away from her almost-wife and to the rings he presented. They were really simple and small, not too noticeable and no excessive engravings or diamonds in them except for their initials.

Natasha's elegant hand took one and lifted Katya's shaking left hand. ''This ring I give in token and pledge as a sign of my love and devotion. With this ring, I thee wed,'' she repeated, staring deep into Katya's eyes while carefully shoving the ring around the brunette's finger. 

Katya admired her hand and used her other one to wipe her eyes. She had never been a crier but couldn't find it within herself to care. Not now.

Gently, she accepted the other ring from Clint and held Natasha's hand like she had done before. Looking deep into those adoring eyes, she said with full confidence, ''This ring I give in token and pledge as a sign of my love and devotion. With this ring, I thee wed.''

The ring fit perfectly and finalized what everyone knew all along: these women belonged together.

''Alright, now that that's all done,'' Sam joked when they gripped each other's hands again, unable to resist giving it his own twist, ''I pronounce you wife and wife. You may kiss the bride.''

He didn't even have to say it. Natasha had already stepped closer and grabbed Katya's waist impatiently, kissing her with such conviction there was no doubt about her love for the other Russian. 

The cheering and clapping of their friends fell to the background as Katya kissed her back with the same amount of emotion and affection, throwing her arms around her wife's neck. 

She tried thinking about a moment in her life where she had been happier, but as she stood there, body pressed to the one she loved most in this world and any other in the Universe, she couldn't find one.

''Alright, alright,'' Sam joked as he stepped back when the women in front of him didn't break apart. ''Let's save some of that for tonight.''

Normally, Katya would have glared at him or joined his joke, but she was way too busy with the face hoovering in front of her own, their lips barely touching as she whispered softly. ''I love you.''

''I love you, wife,'' Natasha whispered back, smiling before pulling her into another kiss.


	78. Out Of The Shadows

2018

''Morning,'' Katya mumbled when Natasha moved in her arms. It would have been pitch black in the room if they hadn't left the curtain slightly open before they went to bed, letting the rays from the streetlights in. Neither of them liked the dark. 

This hotel had two twin-bedded rooms left, meaning both her and Nat, and Sam and Steve could stay in separate rooms, which was the best for everyone. It also meant they could finally cuddle liked they wanted to, and they took advantage of it. 

''No,'' was the short answer she got, followed by Natasha pressing her head further against Katya's neck, her nose trailing along her skin. Her whole body clung to the brunette's, reveling in the feeling of safety and peace it provided her.

''No?'' Katya repeated surprised, smiling at her wife's cuteness while dragging her fingertips up and down her back under her shirt.

Natasha's breath traveled over Katya's neck as she whispered, ''We're staying in bed today.''

Katya chuckled softly, combing her fingers through the short, blonde hair. She missed Natasha's signature red and couldn't get used to this dull color. But the bright red was simply too noticeable while hiding from the authorities. ''I would love to, but it is my turn for a supply run.''

''Sam can go,'' Natasha protested weakly.

''Sam went last week.'' Katya smiled, loving the light-heartedness of the conversation and the way Natasha clung to her.

''Steve then.''

''Babe, no,'' Katya laughed, wishing she could simply send one of the guys out, but they had a routine that was meant to ensure their safety and she couldn't just deviate from it. ''You can stay in bed, but I'll brave the winter cold to get us some food.''

''Fine,'' Natasha grumbled and let Katya's warm body go, turning around as petty protest. ''Don't forget my snacks.''

Katya shook her head at the dramatics, a bright smile settling on her face. ''Yeah yeah, snacks, I got it.'' She reached over and kissed the redhead's cheek, pulling the covers up over her shoulders after she had stepped out. ''I'll be back in an hour.''

''Stay safe,'' Natasha mumbled into the pillow, already halfway back to sleep.

Katya stopped and admired the sight. ''Always.''

It was still dark out when she stepped out of the old and run down hotel. It was a cheap one, like all of them had been. Cheap hotels meant no security, less cameras and less questions asked. The group of four mostly stayed in cold areas so they could hide under their hoods and scarfs without it being weird.

Today, the hotel stood in Belarus, but it was a different hotel every couple of days and a different country every month. It was tricky flying across borders, but luckily the Quinjet had cloaking, making it invisible for airspace control. It was a pain to park the huge jet, though. Most buildings weren't strong enough to support its weight, so the ex-Avengers chose small towns just outside a forest or farmlands.

This small town had a surprisingly spacious supermarket. It wasn't huge, but there were at least twenty customers at all times, giving Katya the cover she needed without people staring at her too much. 

It was an icy day, freezing temperatures below zero in both Celsius and Fahrenheit. A strong wind blew the snow in her eyes, the only part of her body exposed to the cold. By the time she had grabbed a cart and stepped into the store, her eyelashes were frozen together.

Katya fished the grocery list from her coat pocket, dropping the hood from her coat but keeping her beanie and scarf on to cover most of her face. It was doubtful these people knew who she was, but she couldn't take chances, not even in an isolated town like this.

Even on the run, they tried to eat healthy, with fresh food and not too many unhealthy or fast food, but they loved their snacks. There wasn't much else to do inside than eat and get bored. They kept working out, sometimes even daring to go for a jog outside if the town was really quiet. But other than that, they spent their days reading, watching tv, playing games and keeping an eye on the drama in the world. 

And on their friends. They always kept an eye on their friends. Sometimes calling Clint if it was safe to, but also keeping up with the missions the other half of the Avengers went on. Rhodey was luckily able to walk again with the help of an exo-skeleton Tony had developed for him. 

But Wanda was who was on Katya's mind most. Fairly quickly the witch had left their group to wander into the world on her own and to be with Vision. Katya had begged her to stay, but Wanda needed time to think and figure out her powers on her own. She still didn't have a grip on them like she wished and she needed to be alone to get to know them better.

Katya missed her friend, but knew she would be alright. 

At least until Wanda stopped checking in two weeks ago. They knew where she was, but couldn't get in contact with her, so they would be leaving to go to her location this afternoon when it was dark again. Katya didn't know what to think of her disappearance. To be honest, she simply thought Wanda wanted some time for herself. But with people hunting them everywhere, they couldn't take chances.

The shopping cart rolled over the white stone floor with a lot of noise and Katya did her best to shop quick, but not rushed. They only did supply runs once a week, so she bought a lot of stuff. So much, the cart was almost full by the end of it. 

She greeted the cashier in Russian, making sure to use a different voice. Belarus was an ex-Soviet country, so most of the population spoke Russian still. 

Her groceries got loaded into bags and Katya inwardly groaned at the thought of having to carry the heavy things across town. She paid cash and left the store quickly. 

They only took money from their credit card the day before they left town. It was the last thing they did before flying off. The transaction would be noticed by the authorities hunting them, but by the time they had a team on the ground, the group was already in another country.

An intense game of cat and mouse that had been going on for two years.

It was now slowly getting light out and Katya bowed her head as much as possible to keep people from seeing her eyes. The wind had calmed down a bit and the snow didn't blow into her eyes as much anymore. That was a good thing because with four heavy bags of groceries, she had no hands left to block it.

The town was quiet but a small group of people had gathered in front of a cafe. At first Katya didn't think anything of it, until she passed the window and glanced inside. All guests were turned towards the TV and the spy almost dropped her bags as she saw what had them so entranced. 

A ginormous alien spaceship flew over New York, with no other than Tony Stark's Iron Man flying up to it. It wasn't a time for jokes, but the ship resembled a giant donut standing up.

''Tony,'' Katya groaned quietly, abandoning the cafe and jogging back to the hotel as fast as she could with all the additional weight. Having no patience for the elevator, she ran up the stairs and barged in the room.

''Nat, turn on the TV. You have to see-'' Katya cut herself off when she saw everyone in their mission suits already, Sam and Steve's bags by the door and Natasha packing up their stuff. Katya relaxed her shoulders. ''I guess you saw.''

''Banner called.'' Steve explained as she dropped the groceries and quickly took off her coat.

Startled, she snapped around to the Captain, who had become a much closer friend over the past two years. ''Wait, he's back?'' As far as they had known, Banner was still missing after disappearing in Sokovia. Three years ago.

Natasha threw Katya's mission suit in her direction, the brunette just in time to catch it. ''Something is coming for the Stones.''

''Something?'' Katya repeated, putting emphasis on the last part. In the middle of the room, she took off her civilian clothes and slipped into her suit. No one found it weird anymore, but Steve and Sam kept their eyes off her, hunched over a tablet.

''Thanos?'' Sam hesitantly recalled, not sure if that was the name Banner used. ''Big, powerful, wipes-out-half-the-population-of-planets alien.''

Katya groaned, gathering her long black hair and braiding it down her head. She had dyed it a couple shades darker, refusing to go back to blonde, so it was a raven black now. She kind of liked it. ''Why is it always aliens?''

Natasha zipped her bag closed and slid her batons onto her back. ''He has the Power and Space Stones, that already makes him the strongest creature in the whole universe.''

Steve nodded, his long hair falling into his eyes. Katya couldn't get used to his physical changes, the longer hair and beard. Sam was the only one who still looked like himself. ''So we need to protect the ones we have on Earth. Vision has the Mind Stone and the Time Stone is protected by some kind of Doctor in New York.''

Katya hummed, letting him know she was listening as she holstered her own weapons. ''How many are there?''

''Six,'' Sam answered.

''So there are two we don't know the location of,'' Katya concluded. Thanos had two, Vision had one and this Doctor in New York had one. 

Sam nodded, crossing his arms. ''Reality and Soul.''

''What exactly do these Stones do? What are they?'' They didn't even understand Vision's stone, and that was just one. Bruce and Tony didn't grasp anything about it, about its power or what it was. 

Natasha stepped forward, her arms crossed in a similar way as Sam. ''Nobody knows their power exactly, but they formed when the Big Bang created the universe, sending them into the vastness of space. These Infinity Stones each control an essential aspect of existence.''

''That all sounds amazing,'' Katya smiled sarcastically, placing her hands on her hips. This was the threat she knew would be coming, they all knew would be coming, the thing that called the Avengers together once again. ''What is our game plan. I assume you have one.'' She was only gone for an hour, but her friends must have come up with something in that time.

Steve walked to the door, picking up his stuff and also the food Katya had brought. He struggled a lot less with the weight. ''We get Vision and Wanda, protect the Mind Stone.'' 

''What about Tony and the other Stones?'' Katya asked worried as they followed him down the small hallway. It hadn't taken long to pack their bags. They lived out of them in case they needed to run quickly. ''Shouldn't we try to find them?''

Steve didn't turn around when he answered. None of them cared about being incognito anymore, marching through the hotel in their suits. ''First we secure the one we do have, then we see where we go from there.''

''So we wing it like we always do,'' she concluded, sighing quietly. She liked structure and knowing the exact game plan. But dealing with an unknown force like Thanos made that almost impossible.

The lady at the front desk gaped at the four Avengers marching to her, throwing the keys on the counter and marching out. Apparently the people in this town did know who they were.

''Wish we stayed in bed this morning,'' Katya sighed, dropping into the co-pilot seat of the Quinjet they had finally reached, flicking switches for Natasha. After flying together for so long, they worked together without thinking about it. 

''Me too,'' Natasha nodded, firing up the engines, ''me too.'' She was not one to dwell on lost moments and was quick to flip the mental switch. 

Katya watched her concentrated face, the sun reflecting in the green of her eyes. ''You think one day we don't owe the world anything anymore and we can finally live in peace?''

The blonde woman couldn't give her an answer, but the hopeful blue eyes on her made her want to pray for it. ''I hope so, Kat.''

Katya nodded and turned to the blue sky on the other side of the window, letting the jet take her to Wanda. ''If we get there someday, we'll get that cat you always wanted.''

Natasha's lips twitched into a small smile. ''Deal.''

A normal jet would do seven hours over a flight from Belarus to Scotland, where Wanda was staying. Not close to the Avengers, like she had promised, but across the sea. The Quinjet however, could do it in two. It might still not be fast enough to catch Vision before the aliens could, but him and Wanda were powerful and could protect themselves too. They just had no idea about the threat coming their way.

Katya impatiently bounced her knee up and down. The time pressure on this mission was insane and it was their biggest one yet. If Thanos had the power to wipe out half the Universe with all six Stones, they would do whatever it took to keep him from succeeding.

But with Tony already missing and the Avengers torn apart, it would be a hard if not impossible task. But Katya was always ready to give her life if that was what it took. Her life for half the universe, that sounded like a good trade.

As they neared Glasgow, and Wanda's location, Katya scanned the area and found they were too late. The aliens had found them.

Vision appeared to be seriously injured and unable to fight. Wanda had to protect him and herself from two powerful assailants, both with their own weapons. The male had a scepter which awfully represented Loki's, although this one shone a gold yellow instead of blue. The woman had some sort of staff, both sides ending in tridents and shooting blue beams of energy.

Natasha tried to land the jet somewhere while avoiding the lasers and explosions. Wanda didn't notice it as she tried to fly Vision away from the roof of the church, only to get shot out of the sky. She crashed through the glass panels of an abandoned train station, disappearing out of view.

''I got the bitch with the horns,'' Natasha growled as she neatly parked the jet and ran out after Steve and Sam, who had also been silently watching the fight happening below. 

''That's a sentence I never expected to come out of your mouth,'' Katya jokingly said, plucking a gun from the holster on her leg as she followed her. She had had a very short briefing of the problem, but one thing she knew for sure: Thanos couldn't get that stone.

Steve split off from their group of four, signaling he was going around to take the other side, trying to get the aliens from both sides. 

Sam flew onto the roof, since he was strongest in the air and could maybe do something from there. His black wings were almost invisible against the dark night sky and without making a sound, he disappeared over the edge.

Katya kicked a door in and felt Natasha follow her towards the sounds inside. Everything inside the station was rusted and withered away. Empty newspaper stands and information boards and lonely benches that hadn't been touched in years. It gave the whole thing an even creepier vibe.

As both Russians silently turned a corner, Wanda's radiant red hands emitted such a glow they were able to spot her all the way from the other side of the grand hall. The two aliens stood in front of her, tall and really ugly, even from the backside.

The witch stood in front of Vision protectively, who lay on the floor in a heap of pain, half pushed up against a small fence. The Stone in his forehead glistened in the light of Wanda's magic, as if it came to life. He had been cursed with it from the start, and now it all came back to haunt him.

A soft and faint rattling got louder and louder until a train appeared from Wanda's left hand side, speeding through the building without stopping.

The noise was perfect to mask the sound of a gunshot, so Katya aimed her gun at the female alien, careful to keep Wanda out of the line of fire, and was about to squeeze the trigger when Natasha gently pushed the weapon down and pointed at something behind the train.

Katya squeezed her eyes to see better in the dusk and originally didn't understand what her wife meant, until the train had fully passed and a figure emerged from the dark corner. Steve.

''He's so dramatic,'' Katya whispered under her breath, now following Natasha closer to the scene, sticking to the walls. 

The alien she had aimed at earlier, threw her weapon at Steve in the hopes of spearing him with it, but he saw it coming and casually snatched it out of the air, claiming it for himself and leaving the alien without protection.

There was a second where nothing happened, everyone staring at each other in a silent standoff, until Sam flew from the ceiling and kicked the female in her side, straight through a glass wall. 

Natasha saw her chance when the other alien was left standing alone and sprinted away from Katya, who followed her while switching her gun for a long blade. This would be a close fight, meaning a gun would be less convenient and she didn't want to accidentally shoot her own friends in the chaos.

Katya anxiously watched as Natasha ran closer to the enemy but didn't pull her weapons. Until the dark-haired spy saw Steve pulling his arm back and forcefully throwing the alien staff at the blonde. She caught it, fell to her knees, and because of her speed, slid under the alien's attack and hit him in the legs.

He was quick to swing his own weapon around, but she duck underneath again and pierced his stomach, obtaining a painful and loud scream from him. Satisfied, Natasha jumped up and round kicked him in his chest, leaving him a screaming mess on the floor. 

This all happened before Katya could even reach them. A matter of seconds until he was down. It was impressive and proved that even though they hadn't been active in the field for two years, they still had it. It was so drilled into their being that fighting was like riding a bicycle, you never forgot how to do it, no matter how much time passed.

Without releasing it herself, the weapon flew from Natasha's hand, back into the owner's. The female alien had recovered from Sam's attack and flew through the air. Natasha would never have enough time to grab her batons or jump to the side, but Katya had seen it coming and dove forward, rolling over the floor while dropping her knife, grabbing the yellow alien scepter from the concrete and jumping in front of her.

The metal clashed against each other when the sticks hooked together, Katya blocking the attack by gripping her weapon with both hands and holding it in front of her face. The alien forced Katya's weapon closer to her face by pushing her own. The spy strained her muscles and with all her might, pushed her arms up, breaking the connection and swinging her opponent in the ribs. 

The blue haired alien flipped over Katya's head like it was nothing and gravity was a joke, moving for her original target. But Natasha had enough time to grab her batons and was ready for her. Together, the Russian's fought her, ducking, kicking and swinging their weapons around, until Sam intervened and kicked the alien to the ground as he had done before, landing her next to her friend.

Sam took his guns and aimed them, the alien ducking her head, giving up the fight. 

She poked her friend impatiently. ''Get up,'' she growled, kneeling beside him in an animalistic way, like a cat or a tiger. The Universe surely held weird beings.

''I can't,'' the man admitted, clutching his stomach. All four Avengers towered over them, rendering them hopeless. 

''We don't wanna kill you, but we will,'' Natasha spoke powerful, batons in her hands and body ready for a fight if they protested. Katya stood at her side, making an intimidating duo, not to be messed with.

The blue haired alien looked up, giving everyone the first real opportunity to look at her face. She was hideous, dark blue paint covering the top half of her pale face and a streak down her chin, small horns curled back from her forehead into her dark blue hair. Her eyes were an orange red, like the devil himself. This was an alien no doubt. 

''You will never get the chance again,'' she snarled, but didn't wait for an answer.

With a push on a button on her wrist, a blue beam engulfed them from above and unconsciously, Katya took a step backwards when the two aliens floated up, disappearing into a ship that seemingly had come out of nowhere. With a shock, she realized it was the same one that had floated above New York, the one with Tony on it.

With her head in her neck, she stared at the brown ship when a strong pull on the alien weapon she was holding, forced her to let go. The staff got sucked up and the blue light disappeared with the ship, leaving the group behind both confused and slightly anxious. 

''What the hell,'' Katya whispered, ripping herself away after she sensed the others walking off.

She had to jog to catch up as Natasha slid her batons on her back and Sam extended a hand to Vision. ''Can you stand?'' he asked, pulling him up and supporting his weight together with Wanda. 

Vision's injury worried Katya. He was made of Vibranium and was built as the strongest soldier possible. He wasn't supposed to stay down because of a stab to the stomach. That alien weapon must have been made of Vibranium or a material even stronger. These enemies didn't come out to play, they meant business.

''Thank you, Captain,'' the android nodded sincerely. His skin glitched, some of his inside wiring messed up. 

Cap took in his face. It was after all the first time in years he saw the Avenger again and that made him either emotional or nostalgic. Of course, Vision hadn't changed one bit, but the same couldn't be said about the fugitives. 

Eventually he nodded once, not showing his thoughts on his face. The frown he had when stressed or angry had gotten permanently stuck. His kind smile had not been able to break through in a while. ''Let's get you on the jet.''

Natasha was not amused with Wanda's decision to go off radar. Katya saw it in the way she walked, her steps a bit longer than usual and muscles tense. That and the slight squeeze of her eyes.

The black haired Russian didn't know what to feel or think. She understood Wanda's desire for some alone time better than anyone. Being on the run with Nat while being accompanied by two men wasn't always easy either, especially when hotels had no separate bedrooms left so they had to get a family room or two had to sleep on the floor in a single bedroom for two.

They were never alone and after months of hearing Sam's jokes, everyone craved privacy and space.

But what Wanda had done wasn't smart. The Accords had resulted in a lot of trouble. Katya had some Inhuman acquaintances who were all forced to sign, putting them on a list very similar to the Index SHIELD had had before. It wasn't only a way to keep Inhumans and non-human assets safe, but also a very easy list to target them. And they were targeted a lot, because apparently when you're different in this world and people didn't understand you, they got scared and thought it necessary to attack.

So not only had Wanda been at risk from outside attacks, if anyone had seen and reported her to the cops, the authorities would have been on her in seconds. Which would have resulted in capture and throwing her back in the Raft prison.

Katya watched Wanda's long reddish hair swing from left to right on her back, the witch whispering softly to Vision the whole way to the jet. For some reason, she had expected to be more angry at Vision about the Accords, but it had been such a long time since and she had let it go. Nothing to be done about it now.

Natasha waited by the door of the Quinjet until everyone was safely inside while Katya started the jet, having gotten very good at it. As the ramp closed and the train station disappeared below, the blonde glanced at Wanda annoyed. ''I thought we had a deal. Stay close, check in. Don't take any chances.''

As she sat down next to Katya, their positions in the cockpit switched for once, the latter saw she wasn't actually mad, but had been very worried about her friend.

''I'm sorry. We just wanted time.'' Wanda held Vision close, her arm wrapped around his scarlet body.

Natasha let the topic go, deep inside knowing where she was coming from too. She threw Katya a light glare as she saw she was smiling to herself. Natasha was not one to admit she cared about people quickly, but sometimes she couldn't conceal her true emotions.

''Where to, Cap?'' Katya asked over her shoulder, glancing at the man who stood with his hands on his belt, watching the back door.

His answer was short and simple. ''Home.''


	79. No Time To Lose In This Intergalactic War

''Who were they? What did they want?'' Wanda asked the team, interrupting the tense silence in the jet. It wasn't because of her own mistake to report in, but because everyone was nervous and stressed about the fight ahead. Another alien, but this time it was far more serious than an Asgardian god with daddy issues.

The Stones, they scared the team. Another unknown quantity they couldn't pin down. And this Thanos guy, nobody knew too much about him either. But it was unlikely he would be coming alone for Vision and the Doctor. A war was already here.

Vision glanced up from the floor for the first time since he sat down, adding some explanation. ''The Stone... this is what it was warning me about.'' Because apparently that is what it can do too.

Steve furrowed his brows, leaning forward in his seat. ''It can sense the other Stones?''

Vision nodded once, sadness flickering behind his eyes. ''I can, yes. They have been corrupted.''

Steve sighed now that there was confirmation Thanos had at least two Stones. ''We can't do anything about the two Stones not on Earth. We have to consider them lost.'' 

It was a necessary sacrifice, something out of their reach. They simply didn't have the tools to protect those Stones too. So they focused all their energy on the ones they could.

Katya had been following the conversation from the cockpit and twisted her chair around. They had been flying over the ocean for so long, but land was finally in sight. She had nervous feelings in her chest at the idea of being home. The Compound was still her home after all, and she had missed it and her other friends a lot. 

''Don't forget Tony. He is on that alien ship, maybe he can do something to prevent Thanos from getting here.''

''We have no way of contacting him, so we'll have to focus on the Mind and Time Stone,'' Steve responded. His faith in Tony was a lot less than hers, but he was also right in some way. They shouldn't worry about the things they couldn't do, and instead focus on Earth. ''We regroup with whoever is left at the Compound and think of a plan.''

Suddenly, Vision's Stone started glowing and he gasped softly. Wanda's protective and anxious traits came back and she scooted closer to him. ''Vis, what is happening?''

It didn't look like he was in any kind of pain, but everyone was on high alert because of the unpredictability of the gem in his head.

''Thanos, he has another Stone,'' he announced, and more impatience and worry flooded Katya's chest. She didn't want to give up just yet, that wasn't like her at all, but every Stone he got made it harder to fight him. Somehow, this fight was unlike anything she had ever been in. This wasn't a fight for a city or the Earth, this was for the Universe.

''Which one?'' she asked, rising from her seat to stand closer to the group, leaving Natasha at the controls.

Vision glanced at her. ''Reality.'' It was hard to understand what each Stone did exactly, but she imagined whoever had this one, could somehow mess with reality, creating things that weren't there or alter things. 

''So that leaves him with three,'' she summarized, tugging the braid out of her hair so she could run her fingers through it, a nervous tick that gave her some feeling of calmness. The black strands blended in with her jacket.

''Yes, and he is not far from obtaining the other one.''

Katya nodded, dropping back into her seat, willing the jet to go even faster than it already did. ''We need to get home.''

Those fifteen minutes it took to reach the Compound and land the jet were horrible. Part of her wanted nothing more than to go home, go to the place she had been genuinely happy before the whole Accords, but another part of her was scared. Scared things had changed and she wouldn't feel the same after stepping in. Scared she had lost another home.

Natasha saw her hand tremble as they stopped in front of the Compound's main door, Steve pushing the security code into the panel next to it. Unsurprisingly, it was still the same one. A sign none of the Avengers held a grudge, a silent wish they would come back sometime. 

Katya felt a hand slip into hers, the cool metal of Natasha's wedding ring against her fingers. She sent a thankful smile her way, wondering if she would have survived those two years on the run without her. She wasn't so sure she would have gone with Steve if Natasha had stayed at the Compound. Maybe she would have made a deal like Clint and Scott did, placing her on house arrest.

Their little group marched through the building, and as the hallways passed them, still the same as two years ago, Katya was relieved to feel that familiar warmth fall over her. Every turn, every dent in the walls, every light on the ceiling. This was home, no matter what happened here and no matter if they were permitted to go in. 

A loud and annoyed voice -no, two loud annoyed voices- lead the group to the workshop. The first one made Katya smile and the second one made her want to hurl the person out the window. 

''If it weren't for those Accords, Vision would've been right here,'' Rhodey spoke confident and clear. Oh the irony of that sentence when Vision would walk into the room within the next few seconds. 

''I remember your signature on those papers, Colonel.'' 

''That's right.'' There was some mechanical humming, probably from Rhodey's exoskeleton. ''And I'm pretty sure I've paid for that.''

Katya felt guilty for his partial paralysis, even though it wasn't her fault. She had fought his team, forcing him to fight back in the first place. But what Vision must feel was more than guilt. He had made the mistake. He had missed Sam and shot Rhodey. 

''You have second thoughts?''

''Not anymore.''

It was a good entrance, Katya had to admit. Perfectly timed as they stopped just outside of the room, the hallway a little higher and therefore forcing Rhodey to look up. He wasn't even surprised, just smirked and looked back at the annoyance of his day.

Katya stood proudly next to Natasha, who stood next to Steve, making up the first row. Behind were Sam, who supported a wounded Vision, and Wanda, whose glare Katya could feel behind her back. 

It was very tempting to snarl at the Hologram of the man stepping towards her, but Katya kept a triumphant smile on her lips as he studied the ex-Avengers. It pissed him off, she could see it. What did she expect after yelling him to fuck off right in his face.

''Mr. Secretary,'' Steve greeted sternly. No smile on his face, just anger.

''You got some nerve,'' Ross admitted, stopping in front of Katya. Even if he hadn't been a projection, he wouldn't have intimidated her. ''I'll give you that.'' 

She smirked. It was always satisfying to get under the skin of someone who annoyed the hell out of her. She and Ross would never be allies, not after what he had called her and tried to force her to do.

Natasha looked down at him, her short blonde hair falling in her face. ''You could use some of that right now.''

Ross kept his face in check and moved on to Rogers, who, admittedly, was the main person who started this all. ''The world's on fire. And you think, all is forgiven?'' He had been updated on the situation apparently, but he could impossibly know what the Avengers knew.

Steve looked him dead in the eye, speaking much calmer than Katya would have been able to. ''I'm not looking for forgiveness. And I'm way past asking for permission. Earth just lost her best defender. So we're here to fight.'' He took one step down, still towering over the man. ''And if you wanna stand in our way... we'll fight you, too.''

Katya had to admit, she was surprised to hear Steve say that about Tony. After all, they had heavily clashed back in Siberia and it seemed their friendship was over for good. But he held such respect for the billionaire, more than he let on.

Ross took in Steve's words, hearing the threat in them, but turned his back to him anyway. ''Arrest them,'' he ordered Rhodey, who nodded almost convincingly. Even a Hologram, this guy was aggravating and for some reason, he hadn't lost his job over the Accords.

Rhodey nodded curtly. ''All over it.''

Ross' first mistake was believing Rhodey to do it, not sensing his real feelings, his second was allowing the Avenger to swipe his Hologram away and trusting him to do the right thing. He hadn't heard Rhodey's change of mind about the Accords earlier, when asked if he had second thoughts. Rhodey said he didn't have them anymore, but Ross hadn't thought to ask which side he was on now.

If he had, he would have known Rhodey wasn't going to arrest them, but smile brightly at the group instead, sparking everyone else to do the same. ''It's great to see you, Cap.''

Steve stepped down to his level and shook his hand, genuinely smiling for the first time in a long time. ''You too, Rhodey.''

Natasha followed, unconsciously dragging Katya with her. Rhodey engulfed the blonde in a hug and Katya's smile grew wider at the happiness on her wife's face. It was all she wanted to see in life.

''Katya,'' Rhodey greeted her after he let go of Natasha, holding his arms open for her. She chuckled and hugged her friend, really having missed his big heart and bad jokes. It felt like no time had passed at all. 

''Well. You guys really look like crap. Must've been a rough couple of years,'' Rhodey joked after he pulled back from the hug, studying everyone's faces and clothes. Since none of them had access to new suits and their original ones brought a sense of nostalgia they weren't ready to deal with, most of them had switched it for something else.

Cap had ripped the star off his uniform and it had holes in it that couldn't be fixed. The sleeves no longer covered his entire arms, but stopped below his elbow. His suit did look shit, Katya admitted. She herself had, for once in her life, not a full bodysuit on. 

The long-sleeved shirt she wore was made of a very comfortable stretchy fabric and reached all the way up to her neck. It had a zipper in the front that stopped just below her bra band, but she would never have it open that far, just enough to give her neck some space. She had a thick vest on top, one without sleeves, not unlike the camo one Natasha wore. It gave her some protection.

Her boots reached her knees, also for more protection, and on her belt and thigh holsters were her usual weapons. Lots of knives, guns and now also a staff. She had found it in the Quinjet's small armory and liked how it gave her the opportunity to fight hand to hand without having to come close enough for her knives.

Sam had his Falcon suit on, not much changed to it. Wanda was in her civilian clothes and Vision could change his appearance any time he wanted, but was now back to his original self.

''Yeah, well, the hotels weren't exactly five star,'' Sam joked back.

Katya chuckled and adjusted her vest a bit. ''The one with the mice definitely wasn't.''

Her movement had caught Rhodey's attention and he captured her hands in his own, bringing her left one closer to his face. His expression was beyond sad as he studied the silver band on her finger. ''Damn, I'm really sorry I missed this,'' he said genuinely, his gaze landing on both women in front of him.

Katya was about to answer, when a voice from the other side of the room interrupted her. 

''Missed what?''

Bruce awkwardly walked in, clenching his hands in front of him like he always did in situations he didn't feel comfortable. And since all eyes were on him now, he stuttered too. ''Uh... heh... Yeah. I'm back.''

Katya smiled kindly, not realizing she had missed having her original team around her. Bruce was one of them, of the team that beat Loki in New York. Those people would always be special to her and the scientist had been nothing but nice.

''Bruce,'' Katya nodded, retracting her hands from Rhodey's to avoid the painful subject of him disappearing and not even knowing they were engaged in the first place. But she was too late. He spotted the silver around her finger and eyed Natasha's hand for confirmation. 

''I- you got... married?'' Bruce was beyond shocked, his eyes wide. Katya had a lot of questions for him, where he had been all those years for example, but she simply smiled. ''Wow, I didn't even know you were engaged.''

''A lot can happen in three years,'' Natasha chimed in, her sharp eyes taking in everything about the scientist, looking for any clues that would give her answers to the questions she had too.

The tension was weird. Bruce was sad he had missed all of it and Katya and Natasha didn't know whether to feel sorry or guilty he hadn't known. No one knew what to say or do. Did they tell him it was good to have him back, or wouldn't he want to hear that?

''This is awkward,'' Katya heard Sam whisper behind her. She spun around and gave him a glare, after which he shut up. Why did he always say the things nobody wanted to hear. 

''We should probably get to work,'' the black-haired Russian said as she turned back to the others, Rhodey and Steve in particular. ''No time to lose in this intergalactic war.''

They followed Rhodey to the warm, dark brown room they had renamed as the library. Simply because it had a lot of books and looked like an expensive office you would find in a big mansion. Katya had always loved this place. The dark, cozy feeling of the room was perfect for relaxing.

They talked as they walked over there. Rhodey had been briefed by Bruce on Thanos and his plans for the Universe, so they could skip the summary and dive straight into the plan after they had also shown him the Hologram of the aliens they had fought in Scotland.

Katya paced along the bookshelves, trailing her fingers over the spines of the books. A lot of them old, made of leather, but also new ones on all kinds of topics. She had always loved the ones about Ancient Rome, transporting her to a different time while also seeing a lot of the same. 

If humans thought they had changed in two thousand years, Katya had to disappoint them. Greed, pride, wrath. It may not be as obvious anymore, but people were cruel and had gotten better at hiding it. Murder, war. It was a language spoken since the beginning of time, always seen as the way to end arguments. 

And here she was at the beginning of another war, like countless Roman generals had with cities outside their Empire.

Bruce was pacing in a similar way Katya always did, with her thumb to her lips and a frown on her face. But he had a slower step and circled the small table Rhodey stood next to. 

''So we gotta assume they're coming back, right?'' The Military man asked, speaking about the aliens on the Hologram. They were just two, but a lot more would be coming now that they knew the Stones were protected.

''Definitely,'' Katya agreed, plucking a book from the shelf and flipping through it. Natasha watched her from the other side of the other wooden table, arms crossed over each other. There was a certain type of worry in her eyes, one that was reserved for Katya only. 

''And they can clearly find us,'' Wanda added, staring out into empty space. She was afraid for Vision and understandably so. But how the aliens had found them was simple. They followed the Stone's signature. 

The statement made Bruce nervous. ''We need all hands on deck. Where's Clint?'' He automatically looked at Natasha, since she was closest with him. 

The blonde quickly explained. ''After the whole Accords situation, he and Scott took a deal. It was too tough on their families, they're on house arrest.''

''Who's Scott?'' Bruce asked, confused. Now that Katya thought about it, he had never seen the Compound either. She had been so absorbed in her own head, she didn't see how he had wandered around the room as if everything was new. Because it was. For all he knew, they were still living in the tower.

''Ant-Man,'' Steve answered from the other side of the room before Katya could. She stuffed the book back in the cabinet and sat on the table, tapping her fingers on her thighs.

''There's an Ant-Man and a Spider-Man?'' Bruce exclaimed. How he knew about Spider-Man wasn't clear, but Katya had gathered the scientist was in New York with Tony when the aliens came, and Spider-Man had been seen fighting alongside Iron Man. 

''Okay, look. Thanos has the biggest army in the universe. And he is not gonna stop until he... he gets... Vision's Stone,'' he trailed off, afraid to say the last part around Wanda. Again, he did also not know of her and Vision's relationship until now.

Gone for three years and missing so much.

Natasha stepped forward. ''Well then, we have to protect it.''

''No, we have to destroy it,'' Vision said casually as if they were debating what to have for dinner. But that one sentence was enough for everyone to stop and stare. The sacrifice play, something all people here had made once, but nobody ever got used to. 

''I've been giving a good deal of thought to this entity in my head, about its nature.'' Vision gestured to the yellow stone in his forehead, the most off-putting thing about his being, at least to Katya. ''But also, its composition. I think if it were exposed to a sufficiently powerful energy source, something, very similar to its own signature,'' He was talking to Wanda at this point, her powers being the thing he was talking about, ''perhaps...its molecular integrity could fail.'

''And you, with it.'' Wanda's mind was made up, she was not doing this. ''We're not having this conversation.''

''Eliminating the stone is the only way to be certain that Thanos can't get it,'' Vision muttered. Katya couldn't help but feel an intruder on this private conversation. She understood Vision's view on this, she would be begging Wanda to do the same if she was in his spot. But she also understood Wanda more than anything. If it were her and Nat in that situation, she could never blow that Stone to pieces either.

Wanda stood her ground and although Katya only saw her back, could hear the tears in her voice. ''That's too high a price.''

Vision grabbed her face. ''Only you have the power to pay it.''

It was too much for Wanda. She pulled her head free and stepped away, turning her back to the entire team. 

''Thanos threatens half the Universe. One life cannot stand in the way of defeating him.''

''But it should.'' Steve spoke up softly, the depressing mood weighing down on him. ''We don't trade lives, Vision.''

Katya frowned, wasn't that exactly what Steve was planning in Sokovia? When that huge rock threatened to fall down? Sacrifice the few to save the many?

''Captain, seventy years ago, you laid down your life to save how many millions of people. Tell me, why is this any different?'' Vision had walked up to him and waited for a response, a response he had trouble finding. Because he was right, how was Steve steering his plane into the sea any different than Vision giving his life for the Universe?

Before Steve could respond though, Bruce interrupted their stare-off. ''Because you might have a choice.'' That got everyone's attention. ''Your mind is made up of a complex construct of overlays. J.A.R.V.I.S., Ultron, Tony, me, the Stone. All of them mixed together. All of them learning from one another.''

Driven by interest and hope, Katya slid off the table and joined the others in the circle that kept getting smaller as people kept stepping forward. 

It made sense that Vision wasn't just the Stone, but it was a big part of him. What if there wasn't enough left after taking it out? He wouldn't be the same, that's for sure.

Wanda had the same hope in her eyes as everyone, although hers was more intense. ''You're saying Vision isn't just the Stone?''

''I'm saying that if we take out the Stone, there's still a whole lot of Vision left. Perhaps the best parts,'' Bruce explained. And for the first time in two years, there was hope again, light on the horizon. If only it was as small as saving a life. 

''Can we do that?'' Natasha asked hopeful.

Bruce's confidence fell. ''Not me. Not here.''

''You better find someone, and somewhere fast. Ross isn't exactly just gonna let you guys have your old rooms back,'' Rhodey urged, but Katya didn't hear it. She was engaged in a silent conversation with Steve, who had caught her eye from across the room. They were thinking of the same place and the same people.

''I know somewhere.'' Steve's calm and certain voice got everyone's attention. ''Get what you need, we leave in ten.''

The order was mostly meant for Rhodey and Bruce to get their stuff, but Katya found herself wandering back to her old apartment in the Compound. It was weird to push the door open and see everything exactly the same as she had left it. The bed made, everything in its rightful place. 

But the traces of abandonment were everywhere if you looked hard enough. A dust layer on the desk, the bathroom empty and all the closets half empty because Natasha had only taken the useful clothes when she left. 

Katya ran her hand over the different color dresses and jackets on the hangers, contemplating on taking a few with her. But they were safe here, waiting to get worn again. If they succeeded in beating Thanos, that was. If they didn't, there wouldn't be anything to celebrate.

''The red one. I loved that color on you.''

Katya jumped, snapping around with a glare on her face. ''Stop sneaking up on me.''

''I'm not sneaking, you're just jumpy,'' Natasha chuckled, waiting in the doorway with her arms crossed. There was a liveliness in her green eyes that hadn't been there a lot lately.

''Yeah, well, how can I not?'' Katya mumbled, turning back to the closet. For some reason she wasn't in the mood for jokes. ''Alien from space, wants to wipe out half of the Universe, blah blah...''

Natasha's face fell and she stood next to her within a heartbeat, grabbing her hand to spin her around. ''We will beat him, Kat.''

''I don't know.'' Katya shook her head, staring at her feet instead of meeting the green eyes in front of her. ''I don't feel confident about our chances. Without Tony, there is something missing.''

Natasha dropped her hand and pushed all of Katya's loose hair over her shoulders and behind her ears, making the woman look up. ''You're right, but we have other strong fighters. T'Challa, his entire army, Wanda who got a lot stronger, they even promised to get Barnes ready.''

Katya sneaked her hands to her lover's waist, playing with the hem of her vest. ''I don't know what we can do against an army of aliens with energy weapons, Nat. We're just spies, we have no superhuman strength or speed or even powers like Wanda.'' She truly felt so outgunned in this fight. They were trained to seduce, manipulate and steal, not to kill aliens like a military soldier.

''Since when do you doubt your own skills?'' Natasha was always the one who reminded Katya of how good she was if doubt started to settle in. ''You saw in the train station we can do a lot. I admit, that was just two of them, but we never give up, not even when our chances are small, okay?'' She asked sternly.

''You're right.'' Katya agreed, letting go of her wife's waist and sitting down on the bed, once again running her hand through her hair. ''It is all just a lot and I'm tired of running and fighting.''

Natasha sat down next to her. ''Me too, and I get where you're coming from, but if we start doubting ourselves, we will never beat him.''

Katya felt eyes on the side of her face and eventually gave in and met them with her own. ''Aren't you scared? This army that's coming is bigger than we've ever faced.'' She had no idea where this insecurity came from. Maybe it was the fact that this was their first big fight in two years. Although she had never been one with cold feet.

This fear was something else entirely. Not only was the Universe on the line, but also her losing everything right when she was about to get it back. The constant insecurity and anxiety that came with this life would one day become too much, it only needed a little push.

''Honestly? I'm terrified,'' Natasha admitted to Katya's surprise. ''But we survived New York, I'm sure we'll survive this.''

Katya nodded and averted her eyes, staring at the pillows instead. ''I still wish we stayed in bed this morning.''

''Yeah,'' Natasha breathed, savoring this moment, savoring Katya's presence as she always did before going into battle, knowing it could be the last time she'd see her. But there was not much time now, so she smiled and stood, offering Katya a hand. ''We should go or they'll leave without us.''

The black-haired spy looked up and chuckled at the chivalry. ''Lead the way.''


End file.
